Truth and Lies
by Mell8
Summary: What is truth? Is truth the story you grew up learning or the story your most hated enemy knows. Can you be sure that you are so right? Here is the real story of Wizardry. You decide if it is true. Not AU Pre HBP
1. Preface

**Truth and Lies**

**Introduction-**

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What happens when everything you ever thought was good and certain in your life was truly a lie? What if good was truly evil and light was truly dark? If the cause you so fervently believed in was the one that was wrong?

If suddenly someone told you the truth, would you believe them? Or think they were insane? Would you go insane trying to find the truth, the correct explanation uncolored by the prejudices of other opinions?

Or would you begin to wonder what or who created the lie to begin with?

What if this lie was so enormous and so intricate that nearly the entire world believed it to be the ultimate truth? What if you finally met up with someone who knew the real truth, not the lie that had become truth?

And what if this person was considered part of the ultimate evil in your world? Could you believe this evil person? A person whom you have been told is a liar?

Welcome to the Wizarding world, the place where the largest lie ever told had become truth. A place where rules had been switched and evil was just fighting to be heard.

A world where prejudice ran rampant against those classified as evil and wrong.

Let me introduce you to two leaders, Dumbledore and Voldemort. Both fight for their cause. Both believe in their version of the truth, yet one is sorely wrong. Here, let me show you four other important people in this world. Meet Harry Potter the boy who lived, Hermione Granger the brightest witch of her age, Ronald Weasley best friend and superb strategist, and Draco Malfoy the boy destined to become evil and corrupt. They are all part of their own cause. They either fight for the light or the darkness, yet somehow they are all evil and all immoral.

Now let me present the young girl on whose shoulders the truth of the entire lie will rest. A girl who believes in the light but is taught the ways of the dark. She is a woman who will lose her sense of self because of the loss of truth in her world.

Ginevra Weasley, the youngest sibling and a highly unremarkable girl will become the dreams and the downfall of the world.

And yet- how is she to know the truth? After all, what is truth? Is the truth the story you grew up learning? And as a child you had been told of this truth.

Or could it be the fascinating story told to you one stormy night. A story so farfetched that it was impossible to create in ones mind; a story that a select few people had grown up believing as the truth.

Or could it be something in between?

Here, let me show you both sides of the truth. One is the story that good and right believes in. The other is the story that bad and wrong believe. One of these stories is closer to the truth. One of these is the lie. I leave it up to you to decide the truth of the matter.

You and two teenagers whose basic ideas and principles are completely opposite have been given the task of finding the truth and showing the world the lie you have been living.


	2. Slytherin's Tale

**Preface Part One- Slytherin's Tale**

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I give you one side of the ancient story, the side that people will swear their lives on because to them, it as the ultimate truth of the matter. Can you see the truth in this tale?

III

Salazar Slytherin glided down the gleaming hallways of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with a smile on his young face. He was barely thirty and time had yet to show its mark on his strong body. His green eyes had been known to sparkle happily and there was always a smile ready to leap onto his face. Slytherin had a certain twitch to the corners of his lips and an arch of his eyebrows that suggested that he was always laughing.

He was smiling now as he looked around at the newly built school. It was their highest achievement. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and himself had created the school themselves using spells and magic to move the gigantic blocks of stone from the quarry to the school. They had dug out huge twisting tunnels underneath the foundation of the school and had charmed every square inch themselves.

Godric Gryffindor had thought up the idea of putting together a school where they could teach children how to perform magic. Slytherin had to admit that it was a brilliant idea. After all, most parents were far too busy trying to make a living to take time to teach their children more than rudimentary magic. In fact, most of those parents did not even know more than hearth magic themselves. With their new school, all future witches and wizards would know all of the magic that the four of them could cram into the children's small heads. It would be a great achievement for wizarding kind.

The first students to ever be taught at the school were due to arrive within the hour. Slytherin smiled wider and walked upstairs to the first floor. A large set of dormitories was situated here and he had been given the task of watching over whoever chose to sleep there.

He walked in and smiled wider. Since he had been given authority over these rooms, he had chosen to decorate them in his favorite colors. Dark green was the prevalent color though his second favorite color, black, could be seen in abundance as well. If the students did not like his choice in the color scheme, they could sleep in one of the other three dormitories.

Gryffindor had chosen one of the huge towers to build his set of dormitories in. His love of flying had factored into that choice. Hufflepuff had situated her dormitories on the ground floor near the kitchens. She loved to eat so had decided to sleep as close to food as she could. Ravenclaw had placed her dormitories near the library. That had been unsurprising, especially since most of her personal collection of books had gone into their library. She was very protective of her precious books. The school was created with all of their ideals and dreams plastered into every stone.

He looked around the dormitory one last time before trotting off down the huge and extremely expensive marble staircase to wait with the other four founders for their new students to arrive.

Twenty students, all males, walked in a nervous group through the huge oak front doors. They were the only ones who had been willing to leave their homes and families to come to the school and learn. They would miss harvesting season and planting season, the times that their families needed them the most, but would be able to go home with new skills that would better their families lives in the long run. It was a pity that so few had felt that they could be spared from their homes for a few years of teaching.

They greeted their new students with smiles and slowly the nervous children began to relax. The students were led into the Great Hall where all of their newfound confidence immediately melted into puddles at their feet. The bright sun and the blue sky shone over their heads even though a ceiling could just barely be seen arching over their heads.

Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had pooled their magic and had created the huge spell that encompassed the entire ceiling of the biggest room in the entire castle. The spell made the ceiling reflect the sky outside. Since it was now a bright sunny day late in the growing season, the ceiling had the sun shining in all of its glory and the blue sky peaked out behind a few sparse, wispy clouds.

The new students were astounded when they realized that magic, the magic they had come to the school to learn, could create the wonder that was over their heads. They finally began to realize that maybe learning magic could be a wondrous thing.

There were four small round tables set up in the middle of the grand room. The room had been built so large for future generations. It was expected that in the future there would be enough students to fill the entire space.

"Listen well children, for where you sit now will forever be your home in these halls. Those you sit next to shall become your closest friends and those with whom you share your meal with tonight shall become your family." Gryffindor was standing in front of the new students, addressing them with all of his noble heart. "I warn you not to make this decision lightly. If there is fighting among your family you will be the ones to deal with the problem. I am Godric Gryffindor and this is my table. If you sit with me tonight you will sleep in a tower." He pointed to the table in front of him with a smile.

"I am Rowena Ravenclaw," Ravenclaw smiled down at the children tenderly. "I must warn you that if you sit with me you will be forced to hear about the many books I read. My dormitories are closest to the library."

"I am Helga Hufflepuff," she smiled and her plump cheeks dimpled. "My dormitories are near the kitchens. I am more than willing to teach any of you stout men how to cook!"

And last, Slytherin stood and smiled. "I demand loyalty before all else. If you sit down at my table I expect that you will become closer than family with everyone in your dormitory."

All of the founders smiled brightly and waited for the students to make their final decision. Slowly, the first one, a small boy with mouse brown hair and a thin face chose to sit with Ravenclaw. This seemed to break the dam on the children's indecision. They all began to take seats at whatever table they fancied most.

Slytherin was left with four of the twenty boys. He smiled at them. "Welcome to Slytherin dormitories. Look at the other faces at this table and memorize them. This is your family now. We do not care about your family back home. As long as you live within Hogwarts walls, these are the only people who you are allowed to call brother." The house elves sent food up from the kitchens below using a new spell that Rowena had created so talk was stopped as everyone began to eat the large feast set out before them.

A pale, blond haired boy spoke up first. "Hello, my name is Dion Malfoy." He said with a small shaky smile.

"Claudio Zabini," a large black haired, dark skinned boy grunted with a wide eager smile.

"I am Aegeon Parkinson," a brown haired boy shrugged. "I do not know if I will be allowed to stay here for the full year because my family needs me for planting but until then I will be an asset to our house."

Next a small, shy, red haired boy spoke up. "Kertos Weasley." He blushed bright red al the way to the tips of his ears but smiled gamely.

Thus, the first house of Slytherin was formed.

Years went by and more students came to the school to learn. There were even some girls who were willing to risk their reputation and the fact that they might not be allowed to make good marriages if they attended Hogwarts. Fortunately, there were more marriages created at Hogwarts then social outcasts. It soon became tradition to send the eldest son and daughter to the school to learn magic for their families.

Fifteen years passed in harmony. The school was perfect and students were always ready to learn all of the magic the four founders were willing to teach. The four original Slytherins came back to the school to help teach. Claudio Zabini brought his new wife, Aemilia Black to live with him in Hogwarts. Everything was peaceful and happy. At least, that is how it seemed.

Inside of the castle, jealousy was brewing. Gryffindor house was having problems. The students could never seem to get along with each other. They were always fighting about petty matters. Gryffindor did not know what to do to help calm his house down. Instead he watched as Slytherin house became close and friendly. He had noticed how the original members had returned because they loved their house so much.

Why was his house not able to become a family? If Slytherin could manage it, then so could Gryffindor. He would just have to try harder to promote unity among his students.

Another two years passed and many members of Gryffindor house had come to blows. Gryffindor had come to the drastic conclusion that his house needed an enemy. They needed someone who they could hate and in their mutual hatred learn to get along enough to destroy what they so despised. Slytherin with his perfect family needed to pay for the humiliation Gryffindor felt. His students were going to be the best. They were going to be the leaders of this school.

Rumors started with the twenty-one Gryffindors. Soon, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had heard the news as well. Slytherin was teaching his students dark magics. They wanted to control the school and force every one else to bow to their wishes.

Slytherins were creating spells of death and torture that they would use to control the entire wizarding world.

Over the next year the constant smile on Slytherin's aging face began to fade. His students were not dabbling in the dark arts. He did not know much dark magic himself, how could he be teaching his children such magic?

Then Gryffindor found out about an experiment the house was conducting miles below the school. They had hatched a Basilisk in order to research any possible healing qualities the snake possessed. Slytherin himself controlled the snake with his rare ability of Parsletongue. New rumors began to fly around the school.

The Slytherins were planning on killing every one. They were breeding horrible monsters bent on the destruction of the school.

Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw houses became enraged. They wanted to expel all of the dirty Slytherins at once. Salazar Slytherin had to stop teaching them at once. Tensions rose over the next two years until a Gryffindor by the name of Potter attacked Fenton Malfoy, son of the original, Dion. Blood was shed and the rest of their houses banded together behind them, Potter versus Malfoy. Potter to destroy the scheming Slytherins and Malfoy to defend the injustice against his house.

In the end, no one won that first fight but the four original Slytherins left the castle in disgust. Had the unity of the school fallen apart so badly? Sadly, yes it had. Gryffindor waged war against Slytherin with such strong fury that Slytherin melted against their attack.

A little over a year after the first fight, Slytherin himself was sent from the school. Gryffindor was the one to close the huge front doors, once so welcoming, behind Slytherin.

Over the summer things began to change in Hogwarts.

Gryffindor surveyed his work with pride. The area that had once been the Slytherin dormitories was now a primitive privy. He had installed wooden pipes and bathroom stalls into the room.

He looked around the room and scowled. There was still that huge hole in the floor where the Slytherins had built a shaft down below the school where they could research that awful snake.

With a smile and a wave of his wand the hole disappeared. A washbasin that magically cleaned the water in it replaced the hole. Now there was a secret chamber underneath the school. Gryffindor's smile grew. "The Chamber of Secrets, a horrible place that Slytherin created where all of his dark magic and dangerous ideas were spawned." With another smile he waved his wand and etched a small snake into the side of the basin.

Humming a little tune to himself, Gryffindor waltzed down into the cold and wet dungeons where the new Slytherin house would be located. He wanted that family of Slytherins to suffer.

School started again and all of the Slytherins returned. Even the descendents of the original four Slytherins dared to attend the school.

The first night back, all of the Slytherins, old and new, assembled in their new common room. They began to whisper and complain about how unfair and wrong their treatment was. Slytherin had created their dormitory and now it was a bathroom! It was wrong.

"Listen here!" A strong voice called into the milling, angry crowd. Draconis Malfoy, grandson of Dion Malfoy was standing on an old rickety chair, attempting to get his family's attention. "We are a family! We will work together against all odds. Slytherin house will hold together. We know magic. We can place spells on our home to stop the water and keep out the cold. We can buy our own decorations in Slytherin green and black. This is our home and the home of our future generations. We will make this the best place in Hogwarts. Those Gryffindors will pay for what they have done to us. We will continue what the great Slytherin wanted. Loyalty to our house above all. One day the great teachings of trust, loyalty, family, and love that Slytherin bestowed upon this house will be brought back to all of the other houses. Until that day, we, as Slytherins, will hold together as a family."

A great cheer rose from the dungeons, startling the aging Gryffindor out of a nap. A soft tap on the door woke him further. He opened the door to his suit of rooms with a snap, scaring the small red headed first year standing on the other side.

Ronaldus Weasley had taken one quick look at the Slytherin dungeons and had bolted upstairs to have a talk with the great Gryffindor. Even though his great grandfather, Kertos Weasley, had been a loyal Slytherin, the death of his own father from the plague when he was very young had erased any ties the young boy held with Slytherin house. After arriving at the school, a huge hulking boy with the last name Goyle and found him and took him to the Slytherin table grunting, "Weasley's should sit with their house."

That is when he learned that all of the other Weasleys before him had been loyal Slytherins. He did not know what their loyalty was. His friends back on the farm in Ottery St. Catchpole had told him all about Slytherin loyalty. He knew about how the Slytherins wanted to kill people and how they were mean to everyone they met.

No, Ronaldus Weasley did not want to be a Slytherin. Instead he had gone to the great Gryffindor for advice. All he had heard about Gryffindor was great things. He had been the one to oust Slytherin from his terror streak.

Gryffindor smiled kindly down on the small child in his doorway. "You wish to become a Gryffindor, young Weasley?" He asked with a triumphant smile. The boy nodded as he was swept away to the tower.

III

This is the story passed down year to year in the Slytherin dungeons. This is the truth that Voldemort and his Death Eaters swear their lives by. It may be the truth, it may be the lie. That is for you to decide.

The version of the truth or the lie that Dumbledore believes will have to wait 'til next we meet.

For now please child, find your bed for some well earned sleep.


	3. Story of the Great Gryffindor

**Preface Part Two- Story of the Great Gryffindor**

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Come children, gather 'round. Please, take a seat by the fire. Yesterday you heard about the evil snake Salazar Slytherin and you now know his side of the story. Let me tell you the story that most of you already know. Here is the story of the great Godric Gryffindor.

Listen well young ones; see if this be the truth or the lie.

I give you the tale of the founding of Hogwarts, the story known to the whole of the Wizarding World.

III

Godric Gryffindor surveyed the brand new school, Hogwarts, with pride. He had come up with the brilliant idea of building a school where he could teach children magic. His two friends, Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw had eagerly helped him build the school. Salazar Slytherin, a scowling, angry man with enough money to pay for the construction of the school, needed to be coerced and coddled into building the school. After a while Slytherin relented and granted them enough money to build.

The school became a huge castle like one the great lords lived in at the time. The only difference between the castle of a lord and Hogwarts was the amount of time and spell work Gryffindor and his two friends placed on every stone in the entire school.

Slytherin was very unhappy with the idea, after all, who would want to build a school where you could teach children magic. If everyone started to learn magic, how could you use your own advanced knowledge of magic to control the underlings? All those who did not know magic should be bowing to the magnificence of those who did have the learning required; or so Slytherin believed.

Gryffindor resolved to keep an eye on Slytherin. If Slytherin decided to use the students he was supposed to watch over as an army bent on destroying the world, Gryffindor would have to step in and protect everyone else from Slytherin's scourge.

The school was built and the first few years passed without problems. Gryffindor had explained about the rules of the school on the very first day and the four founders began to choose their students. Twenty young boys had decided to try their luck with magic. Gryffindor chose six students to be the first in his prestigious house. Harrous Potter, a hot headed boy with enough courage to suit, Geoffrey Longbottom, a small clumsy boy that was quite good at spells, Anthony McGonagall a true leader, Rashton Dumbledore a wise child with advanced knowledge, Mattathias Fey one of the fairies from his own moor, and his own son, Kenneth Gryffindor.

Gryffindor could not help noticing that the four students Slytherin chose where all sallow and ugly. All four of those students had money backing them and had a twisted disposition towards the other students. They continuously acted superior and snotty towards their equals.

Gryffindor and his students quickly learned to avoid the Slytherins. Instead they threw themselves into their studies. They learned all of the precious magic Gryffindor and his two friends could teach them.

After they graduated from Hogwarts, they went out into the world to help all of the impoverished peasants who had magical abilities, learn how to use their magic. Rashton Dumbledore and Anthony McGonagall decided to create a town just outside of Hogwarts called Hogsmeade where all those who were wizards and witches could go. Diagon Alley was created a few years later in a small but growing Muggle town named London.

All of the Gryffindors, old and new members, tried their best to improve the world of those around them.

The great Godric Gryffindor himself went into the struggling world for a few years and created new housing for all wizarding kind. He built Godric's Hollow with his own magic.

After years out in the world helping people, they returned to Hogwarts. Inside the school they found chaos. Slytherin's original students had not left the school, but had remained to pass on their slimy influence onto younger generations. They ruled over the school with a scowl on their faces and an unkind word for all of those around them.

Slytherin had taken over Hogwarts.

Godric Gryffindor knew that Salazar Slytherin had always been resentful of Gryffindor's students, especially the fey, Mattathias. The Gryffindor's were helping the community and Salazar was too busy trying to destroy all wizarding kind to notice that what his Slytherins were doing to other students was wrong. From the moment that Godric Gryffindor had left the castle, Slytherin had not allowed any students into the school that had a muggle in their recent family history. Only pureblooded students were allowed to learn in the school. Slytherin house expanded rapidly while the other three houses fell into disrepair. It was horrifying.

Gryffindor took control of the school back from Slytherin and began to rebuild Hogwarts until the school was back to its former glory.

Slytherin house became resentful of Gryffindor's actions and began to learn the darker material that Slytherin had to teach them.

Gryffindor watched as the Slytherins began to dabble in the dark arts but he did not step in to stop the horrible practice. After all, Salazar had helped build the school. If he wanted to teach rudimentary dark arts to his students, so be it.

The dark arts did not stop at basic offensive spells. They learned so much dark magic that they felt that they had to thank their wonderful teacher. Salazar Slytherin became a lord in Slytherin house. Slytherin's students' devotion became so encompassing that the students had created a shrine for their mentor deep beneath the school. They placed a basilisk there to protect their lord, Slytherin.

Slowly news began to ooze out from the Slytherin common room in the dungeons. They had created a spell that could torture any unsuspecting person into submission. They called it the Cruciatus curse and they delighted over the fact that it gave them complete control over weak-minded muggles. Soon the Imperious curse was created and some Hufflepuff students had been found wandering the halls with the curse placed on their mind. Total control was a wonderful thing to Slytherins.

After he had found his first helpless Hufflepuff wandering the halls late a night, Gryffindor decided to step into the fray. He descended into the dungeons to have a chat with Slytherin and his wayward house. He told them to cease their dark magic immediately or face the dire consequences.

Sadly, his efforts were not enough. Barely a week after his talk with the house, a Ravenclaw student was found dead in a dungeon hallway without a mark on his body. The cause of his death was unknown. Fingers were immediately pointed towards Slytherin house.

Gryffindor, willing to let his good nature override his doubts gave Slytherin house a chance to defend itself. They declined and announced new spell, Avada Kedavra, the killing spell they had used on the Ravenclaw.

Salazar Slytherin was sent from the school in disgrace. His four disciples left the day after to follow Slytherin into the depths of Hell. Their kind of dark magic was not welcome in Hogwarts any longer. Any child found using dark magic or communicating with Salazar Slytherin would be expelled.

Parents were angry that a menace like Slytherin had been allowed into the school in the first place. They thought that the entirety of Slytherin house should be eradicated and Slytherin's students should not be taught magic. Forcing the Slytherins to live like the muggles they so disliked would be a fitting punishment.

Gryffindor disagreed. He believed that no matter what family or past you held, all people should be allowed to use magic. Slytherin house was allowed to stay in Hogwarts because of the kindness of the great Gryffindor.

Over the next couple of years, Gryffindor began to ensure that Slytherin's ideas would never take root in magical society again. He made laws in the fledgling ministry that restricted all Slytherins from taking power. He also made an unbreakable law that enforced the anti Slytherin Law in Hogwarts. If a headmaster was ever a Slytherin, he would have limited powers and the next headmaster after him must be a Gryffindor to ensure that any malpractice used during the Slytherin's tenure could be fixed immediately.

Gryffindor's greatest accomplishment was on the hat that he constantly wore. Gryffindor placed a spell on his hat that would give the previously inanimate object a mind to think with. The hat would continue to filter students into the correct house when all of the remaining three founders died.

He had the hat place all of the smart students into Ravenclaw, the courageous students into his own house, and all of the descendents of Slytherin house and any one else who fit in with their ilk were sent to Slytherin. The rest of the students were sent to Hufflepuff.

Soon peace returned to the school. Slytherin house had been controlled though there was still resentment simmering below their subservient front.

Before leaving the school, Slytherin had hidden the entrance to the chamber where the basilisk lay as his last defiance towards what was right and just. When questioned none of the members of Slytherins legacy would tell where the entrance was hidden. It became the rumor of the Chamber of Secrets.

Soon after, the first Weasley arrived at Hogwarts. The sorting hat immediately placed him in Gryffindor and the first pureblooded all Gryffindor family was created.

The stage had been set to deny all Slytherins power over others and Gryffindor died pleased with his life's work.

III

Thus, my children, the story of the founding of Hogwarts has been written. Be it true or be it false? It is for you to decide.

This is the story that Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix believe with all of their large hearts. They fight against Voldemort to finish what Godric Gryffindor started, the elimination of Slytherin and his false ideas. This is the story widely told to all children not of Slytherin decent. It is considered anathema to not tell your children about the great deeds of Gryffindor.

Next you will go into the minds of the children who are to learn the truth, or the lie of the truth. They may be deluded in their version of the truth but they stand by their beliefs.

Can you fault them for that?

Their enemies do.

Farewell my children. I do not know if we shall speak again. Until such time I give you one piece of advice.

Forget all that you have learned about the wizarding world before these tales. Broaden your mind so you may see the truth and the lie that is truth. If you refuse to believe anything that is said in the next few pages, you will never see what is truth and lies.


	4. Draco Malfoy

**Chapter One- Draco Malfoy**

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The first day of school had come far too quickly for Draco Malfoy. His summer had been spent in France with his mother where she was constantly shopping for new clothing. Draco may not have enjoyed accompanying his mother into all of the women's clothing stores but anything was better than going to Hogwarts and listening to the fools there stand up for something so wrong.

Now he was sitting in his usual seat in the center of Slytherin's house table in a spot where he could watch the door and watch the rest of the students go about their lives without realizing the lie they believed in. A new student was sorted into Slytherin and Draco clapped, performing the motions of a good Hogwarts student for the nervous first year.

The next student was sorted into Gryffindor. Draco watched as Potter and Weasley stood up to greet the newcomer with huge smiles. Gryffindor's new first year would be welcomed into their fold easily. After all, Gryffindors did not need to make sure that every student to pass into their common room was loyal to Slytherin's cause. Especially since the one thing that Slytherins prized above all was loyalty. If a new student could not keep the secret that Slytherin house had held since the moment that Slytherin himself had been forced from the school by a jealous Godric Gryffindor, that student would be sent to Professor Snape. The potions master could always place the poor student in Hufflepuff where loyalty was not held in such high regard.

Draco sighed inwardly as the greatest fool of all stood up and smiled at his students. Dumbledore was the leader of his great Order of the Phoenix, the cause that would eradicate all of the evil that Slytherin had created.

"This year I want unity between houses to be the number one objective. We must learn to get along in order to destroy Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Together we can prevail and we will make this world a better place." He smiled towards the Slytherin table, knowing that if anything were to happen to make his wish come true, Slytherin house would have to put forth the most effort. Dumbledore opened his mouth to continue with his comradeship speech but Draco tuned him out.

Pansy Parkinson sniffed audibly from Draco's right side. He turned towards her with a smirk and a lifted eyebrow. She smirked back and shrugged. "What can we do?" She asked with a defeated sigh.

"Why don't you speak up Draco?" Blaise Zabini asked from Draco's left side. "After all, you might be able to disrupt that idiots tirade of false goodness."

Blaise smiled slightly at Draco when the blond boy turned his gaze to his left.

Draco sighed and nodded. "I might as well. If I didn't we would be forced to listen to Dumbledore's lies for another couple of minutes."

Dumbledore was still continuing with his speech and had just started explaining about a new program that the staff was going to implement when Draco Malfoy stood up in his seat. The attention in the Great Hall immediately fixed itself on him and Dumbledore stopped talking.

"Mr. Malfoy, would you like to say something?" Dumbledore asked with a slight frown.

"Yes Headmaster, I would." Draco smirked as he spoke. When he had said "headmaster", it had sounded like the greatest possible insult. "If you believe that we will immediately forget the injustice done to Slytherin and fall on our knees asking for retribution, you are sorely mistaken. We will continue to hold onto our ideals until you see the truth, Professor. There is no possible scenario that will convince us that the lie you live is the truth we believe. Please, do not force us to pretend that we are like you and your beliefs. We are Slytherin and we know the truth." Draco turned and walked out of the room amid angry whispers directed at him from the other three houses. By the time Draco reached the doors leading out, chaos had ensued in the Great Hall. The prevalent question on everyone's lips was, "What injustice? Slytherin was the one who had tried to kill everyone!"

Draco sighed quietly and pushed the doors open in front of him. No one would ever learn the truth, would they?

There was a loud scraping sound from behind him and a louder gasp. Slytherin house had decided unanimously to support their Prince. The Slytherin table was empty and all of the students, who had been so diligently sitting in their places before, were following Draco out of the Great Hall in a huge show of their support. Pansy Parkinson fell into place at Draco's right and Blaise walked at his left. As one, Slytherin left the ideas of unity crushed at the feet of their errant headmaster.

Draco reached the blank stretch of wall deep in the dungeons that was the entrance to Slytherin house. "Life's blood," he whispered and the wall moved out of their way. Instead of rushing up to their beds as the rest of the houses were bound to do as soon as they were released from dinner, Slytherin house congregated in their spacious common room. Every year on the first night back at school, Slytherin house would have a speech given to them by one of the descendents of the four original Slytherins. It had become tradition for the first years to hear the true story from one whose family had experienced the injustice first hand.

This year, Draco Malfoy was going to give the speech.

"Sit please," Draco called into the crowd of milling Slytherins. "We will have the house elves send us dinner later, for now, it is time to hear the story of Slytherin."

The older students quickly took cushioned seats and floor space was used by the younger as everyone scrambled for a place to sit. "What I tell you now is the truth of Slytherin. 'Tis not the truth of Gryffindor that the rest of the world believes, but the true truth. I give you the story of the founding of Hogwarts and the expulsion of Salazar Slytherin from Hogwarts." Draco smiled and took his spot standing in front of the fire. "Salazar Slytherin glided down the gleaming hallways of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with a smile on his young face…"

The story continued into the late night and there were quite a few teary eyed Slytherins by the end of the tale.

"There is one last thing that I think you, my family, should know. No one outside of this house, not even those traitor Weasleys, believe in the truth. They believe the lie told to them by their parents who heard the lie from their parents. If you tell someone out there the truth, you will be laughed at. So please, grow bitter at this injustice. Show the rest of the school your anger but, while you reside in this house you will be loyal to us, your family, above all else."

Blaise handed Draco a cup of water and Draco gulped it down greedily. He had just spoken for three hours without pause. His throat was parched but he was proud of his speech.

The seven new first years were busy being welcomed into their new family and they were smiling around at their new home. "These seven first years will be an asset to our house," Pansy said with a proud smile.

Draco nodded and set the glass down on a small table. The three of them were the power of Slytherin house. Standing together in front of the fire they smiled and grasped hands, pledging their loyalty to each other and their house.

Draco looked at his two friends with a smile that no one outside of Slytherin had seen on his face. They were the last remaining descendents of three of the original four. If only a Weasley would return to their fold. Then Slytherin house would be unstoppable.

Pansy left to go retrieve their dinner from the kitchens and Blaise took a seat next to a blond first year girl. Draco smiled down at the small girl and turned to walk out of the common room. He was going somewhere else where he could think in piece.

Draco walked out of the Dungeons and made his way upstairs. He was going to Moaning Myrtles' bathroom, and Slytherin house's old common room. He went there a lot to think and to stare longingly at the small snake engraved on the handle of a sink. Sometimes he wished that he was a parslemouth like Voldemort or Potter so he could go down into the old workrooms where Dion Malfoy and his namesake, Draconis Malfoy had studied. Instead a Weasley had been chosen to learn about the past. His father, Lucius, had thought that if young Ginevra Weasley could learn the truth from the heir of Slytherin himself, she would bring a Weasley back into the Slytherin family. Sadly, their plan had failed when Potter, ancestor of the same Potter that had started the entire fight, had saved her before her views could be changed completely. Instead, Ginevra Weasley was the only person to know both versions of the truth who was not of Slytherin house.

Draco stopped walking outside of the door to the bathroom, took a deep breath and pushed the door open. He looked around the deserted bathroom with a smile. This is the place where he had found a simmering polyjuice potion and had hid in one of the stalls while Potter and his two friends discussed their plans to infiltrate Slytherin. He had immediately called a house meeting where they discussed plans that would throw the three Gryffindors on the wrong trail and still sound as if Slytherin house was behind the entire Chamber incident. After all, if the rest of the world thought that all Slytherins were bad, who were they to discourage such rumors?

Potter and Weasley had arrived in the Slytherin common room one night, had been give a lot of false information and had been sent on their way none the wiser.

Draco sighed and leaned against the sink. He traced the small snake with one finger.

They had failed to gain the trust of Ginevra Weasley all those years ago. Now he was a seventh year and Slytherin house had not obtained the respect they deserved. Having a Weasley join them would have given them recognition among the rest of the world. All Draco wanted was for his family to be allowed back into the rest of the world, but, as long as the rest of the world refused to acknowledge the truth, Slytherin would remain apart.

The sound of a stall door opening behind him made Draco turn around in shock. He was sure that the bathroom had been deserted. Who else would bother coming here? A head of long red hair poked its eyes out around the door and squeaked. Draco looked into the frightened bright brown eyes of Ginevra Weasley and smirked. Maybe if he had a small chat with the girl himself he could tell whether all of their efforts with the diary had been lost. If she believed in the truth of Slytherin, even in the smallest amount, she could be returned to her true family and Slytherin house would be returned to the glory it had once held.


	5. Ginevra Weasley

**Chapter Two- Ginny Weasley**

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Fifth year had just ended for Ginevra Weasley and she was very excited to see her parents again. She loved Hogwarts as a second home but nothing compared to living in the Burrow. She loved her mothers cooking and loved being able to see all of her brothers. But the thing she loved the most about being home in the Burrow was the absence of the two separate beliefs that incensed so much violence in the hallways of Hogwarts.

The Slytherins believed in Salazar Slytherin and the truth that has been passed down for years in their families. She had been told of the story that the Slytherins believed in during her first year at Hogwarts. Tom Riddle had tried to impress on her the fact that Gryffindor was wrong the entire time he had possessed her. Riddle had explained that the only reason she was forced the strangle chickens and petrify students was because the rest of the world would expect it. Once Dumbledore knew that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened, he would expect the children to be attacked because that is what had happened in the stories.

In Tom's words, "that old fool Dumbledore expects trouble from the Slytherins. If we don't give him that trouble he may start looking deeper into our actions. The last thing we want is for Dumbledore to realize that we do not blindly follow the biased rules forced upon us by the Ministry. Nor do we want him to see the hidden things we do behind the façade of Slytherin cruelty. It does no harm to us to go out of our way and give the old man what he is looking for when it keeps him out of our deeper business." That was why Slytherins would live up to the image the world presented them as until the world realized Gryffindor's folly.

The Gryffindors and the rest of the school all believed in the tale that Godric Gryffindor wove. Her family was one of the staunch believers in Godric Gryffindor. Since she had been very young her mother had told her the story of how Godric Gryffindor had single handedly removed Salazar Slytherin from Hogwarts and attempted to erase all Dark Magic from the world. Ginevra had been told about the Death Eaters and how they killed people for fun and, while she had been sitting on her father's knee, Ginevra had learned about the Malfoys. She learned about how evil they were and how they enjoyed death and torture. The Malfoys were the perfect example of a Death Eater family.

"Stay away from the Slytherins and especially from the Malfoys."

But the diary, with Tom Riddle's memories written into it, had told her that Lucius Malfoy had given the diary to her. Tom had told Ginny about why she had been the one to receive the knowledge locked away inside of the dusty pages.

She was a Weasley and Kertos Weasley had been one of the original four Slytherins. Kertos's grandson, Ronaldus Weasley had abandoned the loyalty held in such rapport by all Slytherins and had turned himself over to the lies in Gryffindor house. Ginny had balked at the idea of one of her ancestors belonging to Slytherin house and had rushed to the library to check her old family records. Kertos Weasley was not in the books. Ronaldus Weasley was the first Weasley to attend Hogwarts and he had been sorted into Gryffindor from the first moment. He had never even thought of becoming a Slytherin. Tom Riddle was finally showing his true Slytherin colors by lying to her. Her father had told Ginny that Slytherins had a penchant for lying.

When Riddle had politely asked to control her body for a half hour so he could sneak her into the restricted section where the true records were kept, she had complied, believing that her parents were always right and that no one would dare tamper with the Hogwarts school records.

When Tom let Ginny have control of her body once again, she had found herself holding a dusty tome that was slowly deteriorating. It was open to the page describing the lineage of the Weasley house. She looked to the founding of Hogwarts and found exactly what Tom had told her to exist. Her ancestor, Kertos, had been one of the four original Slytherins and his grandson Ronaldus had been a turncoat. She had been so shocked that she had not resisted when Tom had forced her to call up the Basilisk and tell it to petrify Mrs. Norris.

Rowena Ravenclaw herself had written the book therefore it had to be the truth But why did her family not know?

Ginny remembered asking Tom why had she been given the diary? He had given his usual smirk and told her that the Slytherins wanted to bring a Weasley back into their fold and she was the only one they could obtain. Ron was friends with Harry Potter and would not believe anything the diary told him. They had been worried that the twins might destroy the diary in one of their experiments. Percy was immovable in his beliefs on what was right and good. The rest of the family had already graduated from Hogwarts so were inaccessible. She had been their only choice.

Ginevra was sorted into Gryffindor house in her first year because of her will alone. The sorting hat had begged to place her in Slytherin, explaining that she was loyal and Slytherins were loyal.

"You are very much like the first of the Weasleys my dear," the hat whispered into her head as she sat on the small three-legged stool. "You have loyalty and you have a stain on your soul that speaks of the torture that all Slytherins have been forced to endure." She had told the hat to place her in Gryffindor and the hat had allowed it on the condition that she keep in mind that she would be better served in Slytherin.

Now, every day in school was a reminder of what Tom Riddle had told her. She could see herself as a proud Slytherin, holding her beliefs tight to her body as a shield that kept out the rest of the world's hatred. But she was a Gryffindor, sorted into Gryffindor house by her own choice and by her family's beliefs. Could she turn her back on her family?

Harry had destroyed the diary and Ginny had kept her mouth closed about what she had learned. As far as everyone else was concerned, Tom had used her body to get into the Chamber but had not left any knowledge inside of her mind.

There was no one to tell her which story was right or wrong either. If she asked her family she would be told only about Gryffindor. The facts that she had discovered that night deep in the restricted section of Rowena Ravenclaw's library spoke against all that her family told her.

Ginevra could not go to a Slytherin for help because they would only tell her the story they knew. She could not tell if the Slytherins knew the truth either.

Ginny stepped off the train, collected her trunk, and walked up to the barrier between platform nine and three quarters. She stopped at the other end and looked around for her parents and her brothers. They were at the far end of the station so she grabbed a trolley and began to wheel her belongings over to her parents. As she passed her fellow students she could not help smiling. They were all jumping into their parent's arms, getting hugged and kissed and smiled at.

Ginevra passed the two Malfoys and her smile dimmed. Draco Malfoy looked up at his mother and nodded regally. Ginny could almost see Draco's hidden need to smile and hug his mother. It was almost as if they felt that they must hide their true feelings from the rest of the world.

She could not think on that any longer because her mother grabbed her in a big hug.

The summer passed quietly and Ginny was not given any answers to her questions. All she could truly think about were questions her parents did not need to know about.

Questions about which story was right and whether the Malfoys were really evil. After all, the last time she had talked to a Malfoy, Lucius had been cordial and very polite.

It had been during the ordeal in the Department of Mysteries. She had been separated from the rest of the DA members and was in a dark room by herself. A Death Eater had been chasing her and she had ducked into this room, hoping for another exit. There was only one door in the room and that was the door she had just gone through.

She turned and started to cautiously walk back out of the room. Before she could get through the doorway a tall man, his face hidden by his white Death Eater mask, pushed her back into the room. He hissed at her and pointed his wand at her head. Ginny had her own wand trained on the Death Eaters chest but she was very aware that she was alone and was not nearly as strong as the man in front of her.

The Death Eater laughed cruelly at her frightened squeak and preformed expelliarmus before she could do anything. Her wand flew out of her hand and landed on the floor behind her.

The Death Eater laughed again with an empty, hollow sound in his voice and pulled off his mask. She gasped. Lucius Malfoy was standing in front of her, a grimace running across his cold features. He stepped towards her and she took a quick step back.

"Why me?" She asked, looking up at the blond man standing in front of her. His angry face softened into a small frown.

Malfoy seemed to understand that she was not asking why he had his wand trained at her face with the clear intent to murder her. She was asking why the diary and the information held within it had been given to her. Lucius slowly lowered his wand.

"You were chosen because you are the last Weasley of this generation who has any possibility of understanding what the non Gryffindor believers are suffering through. Our intentions and methods may not be pure but our cause is. We kill to make a point, Ginevra, not for fun." He grimaced. "Not ever for fun." He looked back towards the door, gauging how much time he had left before they were discovered. "You never get used to the killing, not really." He sighed. "After a while your body becomes numb to the idea."

"Then why do you kill?" Ginevra asked in a small voice.

He turned to look at her, piercing her in place with his hard gray gaze. "What would your family think if suddenly the Death Eaters began to help people? If Voldemort could be seen planting roses and smiling at all of his friends? What would you think of us?" He shook his head sadly.

"You have been told of the horrors of Slytherin house, Ginevra. You know the stories. Since the founding of Hogwarts every one who had graduated from Slytherin house has gone on to hurt people and take advantage of people all of their lives, right? We are all the evil creatures who crawl out of Hogwarts to harm others!

"If we were to suddenly turn around and let all of our feelings show, not just our anger, you would believe that we were plotting something. Even if I saved your life at my expense, your brothers would never believe that I had not hurt you in some way. Don't you understand? We are simply living the way the rest of the world tells us to. We cannot be nice and happy like your family, not in the public eye. We are Slytherin and we know the truth. If the rest of the world wishes to continue with their lie, so be it. There is nothing we can do to erase a lie that has festered as the truth for centuries." He smiled slightly and pulled his Death Eater mask back on. "I expect to be in Azkaban by tonight and I will have broken out of the prison by the end of the summer." He turned and began to walk out of the room. "It is the life I am supposed to love." He whispered. "Why do I hate it so much?" He was gone, back into the fight between good and evil, but which side was really good or evil anymore?

That is what Ginevra wanted to know so badly.

Towards the end of the summer she made her first slip. Her parents had been proudly boasting that the Weasley family had been members of Gryffindor forever. There had never been a member of their family who had not been in Gryffindor.

Ginny had been sleeping peacefully on the couch, happy that she could let her parents debate about the turmoil inside of her mind for a few minutes. He mind was slowed with sleep and her reactions dulled by her peace of mind.

"What about Kertos Weasley?" She sighed. Her parents turned to look at her with a strange look in their eyes.

"I've never heard of him before. Ginny dear, where did you find this name?" Her father asked with a confused look crossing his aging face.

Ginevra's mind finally began to catch up with her mouth. She quickly began to cover for herself. "Oh, I just read about him in History of Magic class. He was a Weasley who pretended to befriend a Slytherin to help his family survive a harsh winter."

Arthur Weasley seemed to believe her story since he moved on to another subject to discuss. However, the twins came to her room that night to talk with her.

"We don't know how you found out about that story." Fred said with a hard look.

"But it would be better if you didn't mention it to our parents." George finished with an equally strong stare.

"How do you know about it?" Ginny asked.

"We snuck into the Slytherin common room the first night back to Hogwarts one year." Fred said with a smile.

"Yea, we figured that their guard would be down since it was the first night back and all." George cut in.

"Anyway, they were just settling in to hear a story about a certain Salazar Slytherin when we got in. We heard the whole thing."

"How can you cope?" Ginny asked quietly. "I don't know which side is right and which side is not. I can't fight for the Order if they are really the one's that are wrong and I can't fight with the Death Eaters. I don't want to loose my family." She sank onto her bed and held her head in her shaking hands. "I don't know what to do with my life anymore."

Fred and George walked over to their sister and held her in their arms. "Whatever you decide," George whispered into her red hair.

"We will be with you the entire way," Fred finished.

"Follow your heart, sister of our blood." They both said in unison. "We will follow you with ours."

They left her then, knowing that they were not the ones who could wipe away her tears and confusion.

School had returned soon after and Ginevra had almost been glad that she could escape from her parents and their Order. The pressure to conform to their beliefs was almost overbearing. Ginny knew that she could never belong to the Order, not after the Chamber incident. Not with what she knew. Instead she just smiled and nodded at her mother and father, knowing inside that they would be disappointed in her once they found out about her indecision.

Ginevra sat at the Gryffindor table that night, knowing that she did not really belong in Gryffindor. She sat next to her bother and endured his talk about Order plans and his slurs against Slytherin. Ron finally went quiet when Dumbledore stood up and began his usual speech about the general rules of the castle. Dumbledore began outlining a plan where twice a week four children, one from each house, would get together to do homework. Dumbledore hoped that this would improve the strained relations between the four houses.

Then, Draco Malfoy had stood up. "If you believe that we will immediately forget the injustice done to Slytherin and fall on our knees asking for retribution, you are sorely mistaken. We will continue to hold onto our ideals until you see the truth, Professor. There is no possible scenario that will convince us that the lie you live is the truth we believe. Please, do not force us to pretend that we are like you and your beliefs. We are Slytherin and we know the truth."

Ron and Harry had started shouting at Malfoy as the boy turned and began to walk out of the room but had fallen silent in shock when the rest of the Slytherin table, even the bewildered first years, had stood up to show their support of their leader. Draco Malfoy may not have had the same views as the rest of the school but he had just shown the world that he was the leader of Slytherin house. Slytherin house stayed loyal to those of Slytherin.

Ron, Harry, Hermione and most of the other Gryffindors began to whisper and wonder. They had no idea of true loyalty. They only knew about friendship and bravery, Gryffindor's to the core. Ginny remained silent, choosing to keep her jaded views on the situation to herself; not that anyone would have listened to her anyway.

As soon as dinner was over she ran from the whispers and the talk to the one place that she was sure no one would believe she would return to. Moaning Myrtles bathroom and the old Slytherin common room was the one place that Ron and his friends would never think of searching for her.

Unfortunately she had only been there for a few minutes before she heard someone else pushing the door to the bathroom open. Ginny hid in a stall, hoping that whoever it was would leave quickly.

She waited for five minutes but the person refused to leave. Instead she tried to quietly open the stall door and sneak out of the bathroom.

The door squeaked. She froze and slowly peered around the door. Draco Malfoy was standing in front of her, wand out in one pale hand, waiting for her to come out of her hiding place.

He was smirking at her, almost as if he expected her to run screaming. She did not even think about leaving the bathroom. Instead she went to join the blond by the sink.

He lifted one sculpted eyebrow at her in surprise and she could not help smiling a little. "Your father does that too," she said quietly. He looked confused for a second but quickly hid his emotions behind a mask of indifference. "Your father lifts his eyebrow too." She explained.

Malfoy shrugged and turned away from the girl. "What are you doing here?" He asked gruffly.

Ginny giggled. "You are in a girls bathroom Malfoy. I think I should be the one asking you that question."

He sniffed and ignored her. "Malfoy," Ginny sighed. "What do you think I should do with my life? I know both sides of the story but I don't really know which is the truth."

"You are Ginevra Weasley," Draco said quietly. "You only have to be you. A story of the past should not effect how you live your life. This is the present. Live here and now, not in the past." He stood up and turned to face her. "Until you decide that you are ready to return to Slytherin, do not expect kindness from me." He walked out of the bathroom and let the door slam behind him.

"Return to Slytherin?" Ginny whispered, leaning heavily against the sink with a sad sigh. "No, I will not feel sorry for myself. Not anymore! I am Ginevra Weasley and I will show the world who I really am. No more Tom Riddle, no more Harry Potter. Their ideas will not influence my decisions any longer." She stood up and smiled brightly. "The past is over. I will live in the present and I will make sure that the present knows my name!"


	6. Harry Potter

**Chapter Three- Harry Potter**

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The Dursleys were a menace. At least Vernon and Dudley were. Petunia was indifferent to his plight. Harry Potter had been cooped up in their house for two weeks with only limited contact with his friends. They could not owl him about what was going on in the rest of the world because if Voldemort discovered their correspondence, important information would be given away. Instead, Harry only received small letters asking after his heath and happiness. He always wrote back begging for them to come and take him away from his isolation. They always responded with a small, "soon", written on the bottom of their letters.

Harry could tell, from reading between the lines of their script, that Voldemort had been particularly violent in the past couple weeks. There were even a few unexplainable deaths on muggle television that the ministry could not suppress. The situation was quickly worsening.

What Harry did not understand was how the Death Eaters could kill innocent people. The Death Eaters were even worse to people than the Dursley's were towards him.

This summer the two male Dursleys were insisting that because Harry was so small, he did not need as much to eat. So, for the past couple of days, Harry had been given a single grape for breakfast and he had to find lunch for himself. Dinner was the only meal he received regularly though he was only allowed limited portions of the food. As usual, his spell books had been locked in the cupboard under the stairs but, he had been allowed to keep his wand because the Dursleys were too afraid to touch the magical piece of wood so could not take it from him. He was yelled at constantly and was always forced to do all of the many meaningless chores that his Aunt could think of. Instead of staying in the stifling house, Harry would usually wake up early and go to the park where he would stay until he saw Dudley heading home with his friends for dinner.

At the end of his third week of torture under the Dursley's tender care, Ron finally wrote to say that they would be picking him up within the hour. Harry began packing, furiously throwing his clothing and schoolbooks haphazardly into his trunk. He went down to tell the Dursleys that he was leaving before walking over to Mrs. Figgs house where he was going to wait for the Order to open the Floo.

There was a gout of green flames and out stepped a tall, gangly, red haired Ron. Mrs. Figg jumped backwards in surprise but smiled at Ron in welcome as soon as she composed herself again.

"Ready to go mate?" Ron asked with a smile.

"I've been ready to go from the moment I saw the Dursley's in the train station." Harry answered with a wide smile of his own. "Where to?" He asked.

"The Burrow!" Ron answered and held out a small bag filled with floo powder. Harry took some and stepped up to the roaring fire.

"See you next summer Mrs. Figg," Harry called before throwing the powder into the flames and yelling, "The Burrow!"

Harry tumbled out of the Weasley's fireplace a minute later, covered head to toe in soot and thoroughly dizzy. He waited for the room to stop spinning before getting up and quickly moving out of the way to let Ron through. The Weasley living room looked exactly the same as it had the last time he had been to their house. Their chairs were a little more worn and there was another odd-looking and rather frightening spot on the ceiling, but otherwise, it still felt like the ideal welcoming home.

Harry smiled and went into the kitchen to greet Mrs. Weasley and the rest of the family. The kitchen smelled delicious. There was a whole chicken roasting over their fireplace and cookies were baking, filling the room with their sweet scent. If Harry could imagine Heaven he would think of the Weasley house first.

Mrs. Weasley gasped happily when she saw him and immediately dragged him into a warm welcoming hug. Fred and George clapped him on the back with identical grins of promised pain due to their "testing" of new products, and the rest of the family gave him hugs. Little Ginny Weasley, youngest of the bunch sat at their scarred kitchen table and smiled brightly at him.

Harry could not help thinking about how small and frail she looked. She almost appeared sickly.

That night he was treated to a wonderful meal where he could finally enjoy himself. He was slowly recovering from his last torturous three weeks. A few more good meals and a full nights sleep and he would be feeling much better again.

As he slid blissfully into his small cot in Ron's violently orange room, Harry knew that he was finally happy and only the Weasley family had the ability to make him feel so at home.

A week later Harry and the rest of the younger Weasleys were outside in their backyard playing a small game of Quidditch. The elder Weasley's were at an emergency Order meeting. Apparently there had been another Death Eater attack on a muggle home with a Muggleborn child that had just received his letter. Harry shook his head and focused on the game in front of him. Ron had the quaffle and was flying towards their improvised goal posts. Harry was playing Keeper with Fred as his Chaser. Ron wanted more practice handling the ball for when he was playing as Keeper. Ginny was playing Keeper for Ron's team but she had only been allowed to play because they needed a fourth person. George was inside the house watching a delicate experiment for one of their new products. Apparently it was highly explosive when it came in contact with dust. It was supposed to be a new form of a firecracker but it was still too strong. Two days ago Fred had accidentally taken off the roof of Mr. Weasley's shed with one of their Weasley's Wild Dust Bangers and Mrs. Weasley had spent most of the afternoon yelling at them.

At the moment Ron's team was winning by two goals but Harry was going to save Ron's attempt to score and give Fred an easy opening to score on Ginny.

Ron threw the quaffle and, as predicted, Harry caught it.

"Guys! Mum wants us to stay inside until she gets back home!" Georges' voice called from his open window. "There has been another attack! Mum wants us to stay inside where it is safe!"

Harry sighed and tucked the quaffle under his arm. How could the Death Eaters hurt people? They had consciences, right? They were all human with the exception of Voldemort, and humans had morals.

Harry shook his head ruefully. How could he think such good things about the followers of Voldemort? The Death Eaters had destroyed their morals. They were a bunch of hateful killers. Why would you kill muggleborns? They were just as good at magic as everyone else; they were not inferior in any way. Look at Hermione. She had received the highest marks Hogwarts could give and she had muggle parents. What the Death Eaters were doing was wrong.

The Death Eaters killed and tortured for fun. They listened to screams from their victims while they ate their dinner and rejoiced in the thought of killing another helpless soul.

That is the reason why Harry, Dumbledore and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix fought. They wanted to keep everyone alive, no matter what background a person was from. Of course, if there were not any Death Eaters or any evil and wrong people in the world, the Order would never need to lift a finger to help others. Harry's parents would never have been killed, Sirius would still be alive, and the world would finally be a better place. Unfortunately, there were Death Eaters. He had to fight for the peace the Death Eaters denied the world. It was his duty as a Gryffindor and as a member of the Order. He had to fight against Voldemort and ultimately commit the dire sin, murder. Harry had to kill Voldemort, not because it was foretold in the prophecy, but because it was right. Voldemort had to be stopped. Harry was the one who was going to stop him.

Ginny had rushed inside the house ahead of them. She barely took time to jump off of her broom before leaping into the house. She took her mothers words to heart.

Harry stepped through the back door of the Burrow, brushing dust off of his coat and boots before walking inside. Fred rushed upstairs to check on George and their experiment and Ron clapped Harry on the back.

"I'm going upstairs to get changed into some cleaner clothes," Ron called as he walked to the staircase. "Have Ginny make some iced tea or something."

Ginny sighed and stood up from her comfortable seat at the table. "Alright, I'll make some iced tea." Harry smiled thankfully at her and took her seat at the small table.

As his clothes began to clean themselves, a handy new spell that Mrs. Weasley used, Harry looked around the interesting room. There were so many things in the Weasley kitchen that he would never see at his Uncle's house, and likewise, the Weasley's would never own a refrigerator or even a general appliance that ran on electricity. After a while he tired of examining the kitchen and watched Ginny move around the kitchen instead. She seemed somewhat depressed. There were circles under her eyes and a certain lag to her step that belayed a lack of sleep. Either she was having nightmares about Tom Riddle again or she had a lot on her mind. Harry hoped it was not the former. He opened his mouth to ask Ginny if she was feeling all right when Ron stamped down the stairs and into the kitchen. He was now wearing an orange jumper that clashed horribly with his hair.

"Thanks Ginny," Ron smiled and grabbed a glass of the chilled tea out of her hands. Harry took the cup she handed him and followed Ron into the living room where they could relax in front of the large fire.

That night the rest of the Weasley's returned home. They were tired and heart sore. Even after fighting against a number of Death Eaters, they had still been unable to save a third family from a horrible death. The young boy who had received his letter to attend Hogwarts that year had been captured and was probably going to be tortured. Bill and Charlie whispered this information to Harry and the three other Weasley's that had been left behind that afternoon. Ginny had been asked to go to the kitchen to make some tea for the adults. George had passed her and extendable ear on her way past him so Harry knew that Ginny was listening to their conversation.

He knew what it was like to want to know what was really going on and how frustrating it could be to know that the adults refused to tell you the truth. Harry did not wish that fate on any one else, not even small, defenseless Ginny. Ginny needed to know what her family and friends were going through so she could stay somewhere safe.

Ginny walked back into the room carrying a tray with enough cups of tea for everyone in the room. Talk dulled as she passed out the drink but she smiled and left the room as soon as her tray was filled.

Harry smiled after Ginny's retreating form. It was clear to Harry that Ginny knew that her place was not among the Order. It was better that she remained safe in the Burrow or at Hogwarts. Harry vowed to make sure that Ginny would always be safe and that her innocence would never be tarnished by evil again.

The rest of the summer passed quickly. There were a few more attacks but the Order was beginning to learn how to defend against the tricks and cheating the Death Eaters used to attack innocent people. Harry remained in perfect happiness, glad that for once in his life that he was allowed to know what was going on around him so he could help those in need.

Harry stepped off the train in Hogsmeade, his two best friends at his sides, and he smiled. The burrow may have been Heaven, but Hogwarts was his home.

The first years were sorted and Harry could not help but feel sorry for those small eleven year olds who were sent to the dungeons where their lives would become jaded and their paths turned towards evil. He rejoiced for every child that was smart enough to join one of the other three houses and he clapped the hardest when a lucky one arrived at the Gryffindor table.

The day had been a perfect one so far. Harry and all of his friends from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw had found a large compartment to sit in during the train ride to school. The Slytherins had not bothered them even once. Then, Harry had reached to his favorite place, Hogwarts, where he had seen Dumbledore and all of the teachers again. Now, Dumbledore was talking about a new program where all four houses got together to create house ties. They now had the chance to save some Slytherins from being lost among the evil creatures on this planet.

Then the wonderful night was crushed under the heel of the three most evil Slytherins of all. Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, and Pansy Parkinson led the entirety of Slytherin house down into the dungeons where they were going to destroy every ounce of peace Dumbledore had worked so hard for. Even the first years, who had only been sitting at their new table for five minutes, joined their housemates.

In the end, everything was as it had always been. Three houses standing together against the fourth. The three houses of peace and justice would continue to stand together against the evil brewing in the Slytherin dungeon until the ends of time, and Harry Potter would lead the righteous down the path to peace.


	7. Dragon of Bad Faith

**Chapter Four- Draco Malfoy**

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Draco Malfoy stepped out of the Prefects bathroom and automatically put the smirk he wore around the school back onto his lips. Now that he had spoken with Ginevra, it was harder than normal to keep his lips from twitching into a smile. Ginevra was hanging over the end of a cliff, desperately clinging to the branch that was her last hope of rescue from the truth kept hidden in Slytherin House. Above her, the place Ginevra was desperately trying to reach, stood her entire family; their red hair, ready smiles and hugs waiting for her. Below was the truth in Slytherin that she knew to be right. As she grew older and the knowledge grew heavier, Ginevra's hands began to slip. Draco would pour oil onto her sweaty hands to help her slide down the cliff faster. At the bottom would be the entirety of Slytherin House, Draco Malfoy in particular, waiting to catch her and put her back on her feet.

Until then, all Draco could do was hope that Ginevra would not run to Potter or her brothers. If she did, Ginevra would be lost to Slytherin and their last chance to heal the rift between Slytherin and the Weasley's would be lost. That was something Draco did not want to happen. No, Draco would make sure that the little red head would join him in Slytherin. His smirk grew on his face as Draco thought about the best way to seduce Ginevra. If things went his way, Ginevra would be hanging out in the Slytherin common room by then end of the month.

III

"Blaise, Pansy, I need to speak with you." Draco said quietly. He had spent the past week trailing after Ginevra and needed some advise. So far he had been unable to even have a short conversation with the little red headed girl without either her brother coming along to save her, Ginny finding a way to run from him, or getting into a screaming match that always seemed to result in detention. It was becoming extremely annoying. Draco had finally broken down and had decided to go to his friends for help. Draco would tell Blaise and Pansy about his plan to bring a Weasley back into Slytherin, would ask permission to tell said Weasley about some other plans of theirs, and hopefully, Blaise and Pansy would help him find a way to lure Ginevra to him so he could talk to her.

"Are you finally going to tell us why you have been running around the castle like a chicken with his head cut off?" Blaise drawled from where he was sitting.

Pansy smirked up at Draco from her position next to Blaise on the couch. "Yes, and will you tell us why you are trailing the Weasley girl everywhere?"

Draco sighed and nodded. He took a seat in between his two friends and started to explain.

"Is that all you need to do?" Blaise scoffed once Draco had finished his story. "Just send her an anonymous letter telling her to meet you somewhere. Then have a long conversation with her and explain everything."

Draco nodded thoughtfully. "That might work. Also, I was wondering if I could tell her our plans?"

"If you must." Pansy sighed. "After all, we want her to join us so we can accomplish those plans. I do not see what harm it would do. Just make sure that she will keep our secrets before you spill everything."

III

Draco looked away from the school owls perched on their cages and down at the crumpled letter clutched in his hand. He had meant to write a beautiful letter in careful calligraphy during Binns' class that would impress Ginevra and hopefully show her just how serious he was about talking to her. When he had walked into History of Magic, expecting to be ignored as the senile old ghost drabbled on about a goblin rebellion for the entire class, he was still planning to write the letter there. Instead Draco had found Professor McGonagall standing in the front of the classroom tapping her foot impatiently.

"Professor Binns has been called away to attend a ghosts teachers conference." She said once everyone was settled into their seats. "He left instructions on what work you should complete during his class period. I will be collecting your work at the end of class." She sat down in the teachers' chair in the front of the classroom and stared at the students with a hard glare. Draco sighed and pulled out his book and his notes. There was no way that the old lady would let him write a letter under her careful watch.

Instead of owling Ginevra his beautiful letter after class like he had wanted to, Draco had been forced to scribble the letter on a spare bit of parchment and rush up to the owlry. He now had five minutes to send her the letter and run down to the kitchens on the other side of the school to tell the house-elves that he wanted a picnic ready by dinnertime. Then he had to rush to Herbology outside in greenhouse five. If this schedule kept up, Draco would lose ten pounds by the end of the week from all the running.

Draco chose a random owl and attached the letter to its' leg. "Give this to Ginevra Weasley as soon as you can." Draco said to the owl. It hooted and flew off.

The barn owl flew away into the noon sky and Draco sighed. His last chance to really reunite the original founders of Slytherin was flying away, precariously attached to a clawed leg. The letter had a huge chance of falling off and floating to the bottom of the lake. Draco's plans were already swimming with the fishes. All he could hope was that Ginevra would be able to teach him how to swim.

It was dinnertime and Draco was on the roof with his picnic set out before him waiting to see if the little red head would show. He did not know if she had received the letter or not but if she were coming, she would walk through the trapdoor sometime in the next five minutes.

Draco was dressed in casual dress robes, hoping that he would not scare her away by being over dressed. Still, her reaction to his appearance depended on her showing up to their meeting…

Another minute passed and there was no sign of her red hair. Growing discouraged, Draco began to pack away the food. It did not seem like Ginevra was going to come. He would have to find another way to talk to her.

Draco was just about to put away the bottles of Butter Beer when a creak behind him made his hand freeze above the basket.

A very out of breath Ginevra was standing behind him, her head poking out of the trapdoor. "Sorry I'm late," she gasped out in between gulps for air. "I had to get away from my brother. He wanted me to play chess with him." Ginevra carefully climbed onto the roof and stopped short when she saw Draco. She looked at him thoughtfully for a few seconds then smiled and sat down next to Draco. "He was worried because I've seemed a little distant lately."

Draco nodded back to her with a careful smile of his own. "Here," he mumbled handing her a butter beer.

She took it gratefully and carefully popped it open. "I figured the letter was from you. You seemed a little flustered today and during lunch you kept alternating between looking at me and glaring at the ceiling." She laughed quietly and took another sip of the fizzy drink. "Anyway, I've been thinking since the last time we talked." Ginevra said before taking a quick sip from her bottle. "Well, talked without trying to kill each other. The last detention I had was with Snape. He had me cleaning out Neville's various cauldrons from the past few weeks. It was awful." She gulped more drink from her bottle and then giggled quietly. "Sorry, I'm babbling. I guess I'm a little nervous about finally talking to you." Ginny sighed and stared at her bottle, wondering if it held the answers to her questions. "I just want to know why you seem so insistent on getting a Weasley, me, back into the Slytherin fold." Draco stayed silent and let her talk, knowing that she had something to get off her chest before she could finally make her decision. Instead of interrupting her, Draco started to take the food out of the picnic basket and lay it around them so they could eat.

Ginevra sipped her beer quietly for a moment then she sighed. "Look, Draco, I can't kill someone. I can't. I know that I can't torture someone; I don't have that cruelty inside of me. I can't look coldly away while someone is in pain. Draco, I can't be like the rest of the Slytherins. I'm not angry at what happened and I was not raised to view violence as the only answer to the Slytherin impasse. I'm not sure if either truth is real. The one I grew up learning has been ingrained into my soul. I know that I can't refute it. The Slytherin truth is so seductive but I don't know if it is right either. I don't know. How can I?" She sighed angrily and Draco was shocked at how intense her eyes were as she glared into the bottle. "I can't make the decision you ask of me! I don't know which answer to follow." Now she turned her brown eyes on Draco and they were sad and confused. The anger was gone as fast as her thoughts were flying.

Draco looked at her in awe as she turned down both what he asked from her and what her family asked from her. She was caught in the middle and all he could do was hold her there. Forcing her to come back to Slytherin would only widen the gap between their families.

He didn't bother to answer her, instead he handed her a sandwich and settled down to think. Ginevra took the sandwich and took a bite. She was looking at him over the top of her sandwich, waiting to see what his answer would be.

They spent the next hour eating in comfortable silence. Draco spent the time thinking and Ginevra alternated between staring at Draco and looking out over the grounds from the roof.

The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon before Draco finally spoke. "I suppose I can understand where your reluctance to join with Slytherin stems from. If you grow up believing something it can be difficult to go against your beliefs. You have experienced one side of the world. Will you come to Slytherin with me and experience the other side of the coin?"

Ginevra took a deep breath and stared at Draco as if she were judging him about something. She seemed to come to a decision and she closed her eyes and whispered. "I also do not think Voldemort is following Slytherins precepts. He is leading the Death Eaters for his own purposes and I will not do anything for him."

Draco looked thoughtful for a moment and seemed to be trying to read into all of her intentions. He had something very important and very secret to tell her. It was something only Blaise and Pansy knew. If Ginny were really as sincere as he thought, telling her this information would cement her ties with him. If she was not- she could destroy all of his plans.

"We're planning to take him down." He forced out quickly. Then in a softer whisper he elaborated, "Blaise, Pansy and me, we don't think Voldemort has Slytherins interests in mind either. He is using those principles to gather Slytherins as his followers but he is really after power. He enjoys the death and the torture more than he wants to bring Slytherins' truth to light. Once we are done school, the Slytherins who follow me are planning on taking on Voldemort and taking over. But, to be able to do that we need your help."

"Do you just need a Weasley's help?" Ginny asked too softly.

"Yes", Draco said quietly. "But if I just wanted any Weasley's help I could have gotten your twin brothers help. They heard the story the night they snuck in." Draco smiled at Ginny's shocked expression. "Yes, we knew they were there Ginevra. No one can hide from a Slytherin in Slytherin territory."

Draco reached out and gently cupped her face with one hand. "You see, Ginevra Weasley," he whispered, "I wanted a specific Weasley to join us." He leaned forward. "I wanted you." His lips met hers in a slow tender kiss.

He slowly drew away and smiled down at her. Ginevra's eyes were closed and there was a small soft smile across her cute face.

"Will you join us?" Draco asked softly.

"Not us, no, but I will join you." Ginevra said before lifting her hands to tangle in Draco's hair and pull him down for another kiss. "For you," she whispered.


	8. Severus Snape

**Chapter Five- Severus Snape**

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"Good, very good Aaron." Snape said with a minute smile on his sallow face. His shoulder length greasy hair was pulled back into a black hair tie and his robes had been discarded on a couch in the bright living room he was standing in. In front of the head of Slytherin were seven small children, girls and boys, with wands held in their hands.

Aaron, the smallest and oldest boy, was standing closest to Snape. Aaron was panting for breath; his light brown hair was plastered to his head from the sweat that was dripping down his face and there were pillows flying around his head, but he was smiling brightly up at Snape.

"Uncle!" Aaron gasped out through his panting. "I did it Uncle. I Accio'ed the entire stack of pillows and I levitated them at the same time!"

Snape nodded down at the small boy. "Next!" He barked. "Meghan, why don't you try now?"

Twenty minutes later Snape stepped out of the room and quickly stood aside as the children ran from the living room into the dinning room for dinner. Snape quickly pulled his hair out of the tie and walked down the hallway into the study where the owner of the house was waiting for his report on the progress of their students.

Snape knocked and opened the door. Lucius Malfoy rose to meet him. Although the man was a fugitive he still lived in hiding in Malfoy manor. Lucius's idea was that none of the Ministry officials would believe that he would return to such an obvious place. Snape personally thought it to be ludicrous but went along with the elder Malfoy anyway.

"I trust that our little investments are doing well?" Lucius said and waved for Snape to take a seat. A house elf placed two glasses of red wine in front of them and disappeared.

"They are doing exceptionally well. Training the prospective first years that we captured was an excellent idea. You really must congratulate Draco and Blaise on their brilliant idea. In particular Aaron is excelling. When your son returns home for the holidays I think Aaron should be placed under his tutelage."

"Very good. Thank you for teaching them Severus."

"I am still hoping that you find a better tutor. I don't believe Dumbledore truly believes that I am at Death Eater meetings the entire time I am not in Hogwarts. I don't want the old man to start watching me too closely." Snape shook his head. He enjoyed being able to teach children without needing to hide behind the Slytherin mask; something he couldn't do at Hogwarts; but it was becoming too dangerous for him to spend so much time outside of Hogwarts. All of the children they had obtained were either muggleborns or orphans and they had all been mistreated in their previous homes. True some of their parents had died but, in the long run, the children benefited from their care with the Malfoys.

"And the Dark Lord?" Malfoy asked quietly. "I do not wish for the Dark Lord to learn of my son's plans."

"The Dark Lord continues to trust me and though he is wary of you, Lucius, because of your mistakes at the Department of Mysteries, the Lord believes that your son and his friends are loyal."

"Good. That is a relief to hear. When will you return for the children's next lesson?"

"Next week, before the Death Eater meeting. I will tell Dumbledore that the Dark Lord has ordered me to arrive early. Tell the children to have their cauldrons ready. We will practice potion making next time." Snape lifted his glass of wine, gulped the remaining liquid and swept out of the room.

III

Severus Snape glided along the dungeons. He had his scowl firmly in place and had a sinister snap to his black robes that screamed evil Slytherin. He had just made his report to Dumbledore about the Death Eater meeting and had been forced to make excuses so he could leave before the old man became curious about how a usual hour to two hour meeting had managed to last five hours.

As he was leaving the room Dumbledore had stopped him. "Severus, I believe that some of your Slytherins are planning something. I do not know as of yet if it is for Voldemort or for their own personal gain but I would ask that you watch your students for me."

"Which students in particular?" Snape asked as he carefully guarded his expression.

"Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, and Pansy Parkinson are the ringleaders."

Snape nodded and hid his dismay deep in his mind where Dumbledore would not find it. "I will watch them headmaster."

Snape turned the corner toward his office and let his glare grow. The object of his displeasure was leaning nonchalantly against the door to his office. Draco Malfoy was clearly waiting for Snape to get back from his fathers house. Snape stopped walking next to his godchild and glared up at the taller teenager.

"Dumbledore knows you are up to something," Snape snarled before turning and casting his complicated unlocking spell on his office door. Draco followed him into the office and arrogantly took a seat in one of the straight hard backed chairs.

"What does the old fool suspect?" Malfoy drawled in his cold voice that he usually reserved for the less savory Gryffindors.

"He knows that you are up to something although he is not sure whether your plans are for your own gain or for the Dark Lords." Snape snarled. "Whatever you are doing inside the school that I don't know about needs to stop now or you will be caught."

"Actually," Draco said quietly, "that is what I'm here to talk to you about."

"Your plans?" Snape asked incredulously. The only plan he had been informed of was with the children. Draco and his father had been firmly closemouthed about everything else they had been planning.

"Yes. One of my plans was to convince a Weasley to return to Slytherin." Snape lifted his eyebrows in surprise but otherwise managed to stay stoic. "Last night I was able to get one."

"Who?" Snape asked quietly.

"Ginevra Weasley." Draco answered with a satisfied smile on his face. "I spent most of last night telling Ginny everything that I'm planning."

"She knows everything? You trust her not to run to Potter or Dumbledore?" Snape stood up and went to lean on the desk in front of Draco. He angrily loomed over the blond. "Are you sure that telling this girl was a wise decision?"

"I know what you're thinking Severus." Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You think I just threw everything away for a girl but let me warn you; there was a reason my father gave Tom Riddle's diary to Ginevra Weasley in my second year. I have spent the past weeks gauging her loyalty before going to speak with her. Ginny is loyal to my cause and she knows more of my plans than you."

"Does she know more than your father or your two friends?" Snape hissed. He was not jealous of the little girl that Draco had taken a fancy towards. Snape was merely worried about the welfare of his Slytherins.

Draco laughed. "More than my father? My father began planning this for me the second he found out my mother was pregnant. Even then, when my father was still firmly loyal to the Dark Lord, he knew that the last thing he wanted for me was to be forced to submit to a half-breed. I only wish I knew some of what he has planned for me. Blaise and Pansy know a little more than Ginevra but that is only because they have been around me for much longer. They know how I was trained and what I am to become. Ginny only knows our current plans. She knows about the children and about our dislike of Voldemort."

Snape sighed. It was clear that Miss Weasley knew much more but Draco was unwilling to part with even a scrap of the information to his godfather. Draco thought Snape was too close to Dumbledore and Voldemort and could be forced to give away some delicate information so the boy refused to tell him anything except the basics. "When did you have time to tell Miss Weasley all of this?"

"We had a picnic last night on the roof and ummm," Draco paused and a faint pink color tinged his cheeks. "Well, after we erm, never mind…" Draco took a deep breath and started over. He ignored Snape's pointed, knowing look and continued speaking as if he hadn't just given away a large secret. "After we were finished eating we talked. I told Ginevra everything and she told me some very interesting information. The point is, I trust her and she trusts me enough to follow all of my plans."

Snape nodded. He had just learned that Draco liked Miss Weasley with more than a professional interest and that one of Draco's secret plans was to get not just a Weasley, but Ginevra Weasley in particular, to join him.

"If you don't need my help with one of your plans Draco, then why are you here?" Snape asked wearily.

"I need your permission to be allowed to bring Ginny into my private rooms." Snape lifted an eyebrow and Draco's ears went red. "Not for that!" Draco snarled. "I want to introduce her to Blaise and Pansy and have a safe place to talk to all three of them!" Draco stood up and glared down his nose at the Head of Slytherin.

"Very well. You have my permission to bring Ginevra Weasley into your private rooms." Draco nodded his thanks and turned to walk out of the room. "But, if I ever catch you doing something inappropriate I will revoke my permission." Draco slammed the door so hard on his way out that a couple potion bottles fell off the shelves.

Snape smiled and turned to go to his private rooms where he kept a small supply of floo powder. Lucius would enjoy knowing how well Draco's plans were progressing. The fact that Draco had taken fancy to the Weasley girl would no doubt amuse the elder Malfoy.

III

Draco Malfoy stormed down the corridors apparently in a very black humor. He glared angrily at anyone who caught his eye and sent the first and second years flying out of his path. His gray-blue eyes were moving quickly around his face and nearly everyone backed away from him. No one wanted to be the object of his negative attention. Suddenly his eyes stopped moving. They were focused on the small red headed girl walking by herself to class.

All of the students who noticed where Draco Malfoy had decided to rest his gaze left the corridor as quickly as possible. If Malfoy started fighting with Weasley other innocent people around the feud would get hurt. By the time Malfoy stomped across the hall to Ginny the corridor was almost empty.

Instead of starting a fight with her, Malfoy forced his shoulder into hers and pushed the smaller girl into the wall before stomping out.

Ginny hid her smile and rubbed her shoulder with a hand that held a small folded piece of parchment, a hand that had been empty moments before.

Written on the parchment was a small map of the dungeons and the words 'tonight' and 'heart sore'. Ginny tucked the map to Draco Malfoy's rooms deep into the pocket of her robes and continued on to her next class in a considerably better mood than before.


	9. Ginny Weasley

**Chapter Six- Ginevra Weasley**

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Ginny slid the map into the pocket of her robes and stood outside of the entrance to Draco Malfoy's personal rooms with more than a little trepidation. True they had spent more than an hour with their lips connected and their tongues battling the last time she had seen him, but that did not mean she was ready to face the boy in his own rooms.

The plans he had divulged to her were simple and effective but were based on long-term results. It would take years for the eleven years olds they were capturing and training to learn enough magic to be efficient in a duel. It could take months for Harry Potter to grow enough of a backbone to truly fight and destroy Voldemort. And, Ginny had a sneaking suspicion that once Voldemort was out of the way, Draco Malfoy would be rallying all of the Death Eaters and other Slytherins under his banner; and Draco Malfoy did not lose. All of Draco's plans led to a distant future where Salazar Slytherin was respected and the Ministry and the Order were punished for their actions against Slytherin. Plus, from last night Ginny thought that maybe Draco wanted her by his side as he took over the wizarding world. Could she handle that?

Ginny took a deep breath and sighed. "Heart sore," she whispered. The door swung open and Ginny heard the vestiges of a conversation stop suddenly. She took a quick step inside the door and let it close behind her. Suddenly Draco was in front of her. When he caught sight of her red hair he put his wand away, draped a lazy arm over her shoulders, and led her into the room.

"Blaise, Pansy, meet Ginny. She has graciously agreed to join our cause." Draco drawled to his friends as he led Ginny to a chair and pulled it out for her to sit.

Pansy looked at Ginny sharply before glaring at Draco. "Do you think it wise to tell her all of our plans when we are still unsure of her loyalty? I am not sure that I trust your judgment on this Draco."

Blaise nodded his agreement with his girlfriend. "She could easily turn tail and run to Potter and Dumbledore and tell them everything."

Ginny glowered at Pansy and Blaise and sent her scowl at Draco. Draco smiled at her and nodded to say that she could answer.

"As much as I enjoy your conversation I would appreciate it if you would direct your questions about me to me." Ginny hissed. "It is too late for such worries now as Draco has already told me many of your plans and I have guessed a few more myself. As for my loyalty, I refuse to follow Voldemort and I hold no loyalty to Slytherin even though I know his story. All of my loyalty is for Draco. He has helped me understand how to balance the two truths and he understands that I cannot harm my family." And his kisses felt so warm and good that they left Ginny reeling in pleasure and happiness; but she did not want to mention that in front of Blaise and Pansy. "I will not tell Harry or Dumbledore about your plans. Do you think they would believe something so far fetched anyway?" Ginny laughed. "No, I think I like being part of your plans for the future and part of your beliefs for Slytherin."

Pansy nodded and smiled. "Then welcome, Ginevra Weasley, back into Slytherin and back into our family." She kissed Ginny on both cheeks before sitting back in her seat. Blaise took Ginny's hand and kissed the back of it to show his acceptance.

"Now then," Draco said with a smile, "back to business. I spoke to father. He says that Snape thinks the children need a tutor who can be with them more often. We need someone trustworthy and loyal to our cause and not to Voldemort."

"It would have to be a Slytherin," Pansy sighed, "but who in Slytherin is not loyal to Voldemort."

"What about my brothers?" Ginny asked quietly. Everybody turned their heads to glance incredulously at Ginny. She held up her hands and giggled. "Wait and hear what I have to say. Fred and George, as I am sure you know, snuck into the Slytherin common room and heard the story of Slytherin. Last summer I accidentally let slip that I knew about how the first Weasley was really sorted into Slytherin and that Ronaldus switched houses, and they came to talk to me. They seemed to be just as conflicted as I was when it came to figuring out which truth to believe but one thing they mentioned was that whichever road I chose, Slytherin or Gryffindor, they would follow me unerringly. Once they learn that I have chosen to follow Draco they will follow me."

Draco looked impressed but Blaise and Pansy looked skeptical.

"Can you prove their loyalty?" Blaise asked with a small frown of his face.

Ginny shook her head. "I cannot." She seemed to think for a moment. "What are you doing for Christmas vacation?"

No one answered her for a moment. All three were struck silent for a moment by the sudden change in conversation.

"What does that have to do with your brothers?" Draco finally asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"Over break we should all go and talk to them. You can gauge their loyalty then and you can see if they know enough to tutor the children."

Draco nodded thoughtfully. "We could try that. Until then keep your minds open to other possibilities. Now, I think we should talk about dear Minister Fudge. He is in my father's pocket under Voldemort's orders. Should we nudge the Minister towards our cause or drop him completely?"

Ginny sat back and watched Draco lead their little council. She did not have enough information about the subject to add any further input to what Blaise and Pansy were suggesting so she took time to watch how they interacted.

Draco was a born leader. He easily took control and delegated powers and responsibilities well. He listened to everyone's suggestions and made a strong educated decision that everyone agreed on.

Blaise and Pansy were a couple but their strengths lay in different directions. Pansy was a social butterfly. She pretended to be shallow and callous and stupid around others so they would underestimate her and, due to their belief that she would neither care nor understand what they spoke of, tell their secrets while she was present. She could also tell what actions would goad people towards certain decisions. She used all of her knowledge to help Draco make decisions that would be agreeable to more people.

Blaise was Draco's hidden strength, the behind the scenes man. Blaise was the one who threatened and coerced people into backing Draco. He was the one in Knockturn Alley schmoozing with the clientele in the dark alleys. Blaise policed those loyal to Draco to make sure that every order was followed to the letter.

What could Ginny offer to help Draco when he already had so much? Was she just decoration for his arm?

No. Ginny refused to become someone who could be ignored. She would become as important to Draco as Blaise and Pansy.

"So Fudge has to disappear." Draco sighed but nodded at the decision they had come to. "How do you suggest we do it? Tell Voldemort something about him or act on him ourselves?"

"Voldemort would be easiest." Blaise sighed. "I do not like having Voldemort do our dirty work though."

"Then why involve Voldemort at all?" Ginny asked quietly. "Go to the media. Slip a reporter for the Profit a couple galleons and have him report a story about how Fudge is beginning to slip. Create so many rumors about how horrible Fudge has been doing that the people force him out of office. That way no one can be blamed and Voldemort will never know that you had a hand in erasing his best informant in the Ministry."

"Brilliant Ginny!" Pansy smiled. "That would work beautifully."

"I will mention it to my father." Draco nodded. He saw Pansy yawn and smiled. "I believe we had discussed enough for tonight. Same time next week?"

III

Once Blaise and Pansy had left Draco sighed and turned to Ginny. "Now for the real reason I brought you to our meeting."

He gently gripped Ginny's hand and led her over to the bed. Ginny tensed slightly but still sat down next to Draco. She was not ready to sleep with anyone and she hoped that Draco would understand that. Even though his kisses and caresses felt very good, Ginny wanted to wait until she was sure that she was going to marry Draco before she took that last step.

Draco laughed at her discomfort. "No Ginny, I do not mean anything like that. I just want to talk."

Ginny nodded and smiled at him before leaning her head on his shoulder.

Draco kissed the top of her head before starting to talk. "I believe that you have guessed that I am building an army so I can take over the wizarding world." He waited for Ginny to nod. "What you have yet to guess is that I want to take over the wizarding world which means," he continued quickly at Ginny's look of confusion, "that I am not willing to settle for just this island. I want Europe and the Americas and Asia as well." Ginny looked up at him in shock. Draco really wanted to take over the _world_. She supposed that it should not have shocked her as much as it had; after all, Draco always got everything he wanted. She smiled at him and sighed happily when his relived smile echoed hers.

Draco slowly bent his head and captured her lips with his. Ginny eagerly accepted his kiss and was more than willing to lay back for Draco so he could rest on top of her as they kissed.

When Ginny snuck back to the common room an hour later she had a huge smile plastered to her face.


	10. Winter Break

**Chapter Seven- Ginny Weasley**

-------------------------------------

Ginny was never happier than she was over the next few weeks. She had long meetings in Draco's rooms with Blaise, Pansy and Draco and even longer snogging sessions with Draco afterwards. Time flew by and their plans and her relationship with Draco progressed. Soon break was nearing and Ginny did not know what everyone was going to do for Christmas.

She broached the subject with Ron, Hermione and Harry first.

"Ginny," Ron gasped, "didn't you get the letter? Mum said that she and dad were going to Romania again but if we wanted we were welcome at headquarters. Me an' Harry are going there for break."

"I've decided to go home to my parents for the holidays." Hermione smiled. "You're welcome to join me if you want."

Ginny smiled at them and shrugged noncommittally. "I've had an invitation to another friend's house. Do you think Mum will let me go there?"

"Owl her," Harry said with a smile.

Ginny nodded and picked up her books. "I'll do that now. Ron can I borrow Pig?"

Ron nodded and Ginny left for the Owlry.

She actually had not gotten an invitation to Draco's house yet but she knew that it was only because Draco did not want her to feel like he was forcing their relationship to move too quickly. She was sure that once she broached the subject Draco would be more than welcoming.

III

The meeting that night was more of a party than anything else. It was their last meeting before break and they were all a little high strung with the excitement of being able to be with their families without having to hide their meetings from outside eyes.

"So what are we doing during break?" Ginny asked quietly.

Pansy turned to look at her with a lifted eyebrow. "Are you going home to your family Ginny?"

Ginny blushed. "I was actually hoping to stay at Draco's house, if, that is, if it is, well…Draco may I?"

Draco's cheeks tinged pink and he nodded. "Do you really want to!"

Ginny smiled, "Where else would I go?"

"This is wonderful!" Pansy laughed. "Now we can introduce you to all of the children and my mother has been dying to meet you!"

Ginny smiled happily at Pansy and blushed again when she felt Draco slip his hand into hers. She had a feeling that this vacation was going to be wonderful.

III

Blaise and Pansy took a separate compartment from Draco and Ginny as they wanted some "alone time" before they were smothered by their parents. Both Draco and Ginny were fine with the arrangement because it meant that they could have some alone time as well.

"Are you nervous about meeting my father?" Draco asked suddenly. Ginny had been resting her head on Draco's shoulder, happy that she had someone as good as Draco for her boyfriend.

She looked up at Draco with a surprised expression on her face. "I have already met your father Draco, in the Department of Mysteries. He was nice and he did not kill me even though Voldemort had ordered him to. I want to thank him for that."

Draco smiled and gently kissed her.

They were in the middle of a heated snog when Blaise and Pansy rushed into the compartment.

"The prefects are patrolling the train." Blaise snarled. "Granger and Weasley are sticking their noses into every compartment to make sure everyone is behaving and they are walking this way."

Ginny blanched. "They will see me!"

Draco stood up quickly and dug in his trunk for a moment before handing her a huge hooded cloak. "Put that on. Hopefully they will not ask about you."

Five minutes later the compartment door rolled open and Weasley and Granger strode into the room. "We're just making sure that you aren't breaking the rules," Hermione said with a grimace at the occupants of the compartment.

"So fess up, what are you doing this time?" Ron hissed. Hermione gave him a look and Ron sighed. "They're Slytherins Hermione, they're always up to something."

"I suggest you leave Weasley before we pull out our wands," Blaise hissed. Weasley took a step back but did not leave the compartment.

"Who's that?" Hermione asked with a shrug towards the hooded Ginny.

"Quiet Granger," Draco snarled. "You would not want to wake her up would you?"

Pansy smirked and stood up. "Now if you would leave?" She asked quietly. Pansy pushed Granger and Weasley out of the door and closed and locked the compartment behind them. "Annoying little buggers," she hissed with a sigh now that they were gone. "Ginny I think you can take off Draco's cloak now." Ginny did not answer.

Draco peaked into the hood and laughed. "I think Ginny fell asleep." He slowly slid down the bench so Ginny could stretch out and rest her head in his lap.

III

"Draco, this is like a dress!" Ginny whined as she slowly disembarked from the train. "I cannot go out in public in this. What will your mother think?"

"My mother will understand the necessity of keeping your identity hidden under the cloak while you are in public. We do not want everybody knowing that you are traveling to my house over the break. It would give our plans away."

Narcissa Malfoy was waiting for Draco and Ginny in a corner with both Pansy and Blaises' mothers. She lifted one blond eyebrow when she saw the person following Draco. Whoever the person was, they were drowning in a cloak that was far too big for them.

"Mother," Draco said with a smile once he reached her side, "may I introduce Ginny Weasley, my girlfriend." Narcissa lifted the other eyebrow in surprise. Now she knew why the girl was covered so completely. Ginny Weasley needed to hide her identity and the cloak certainly did that.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Malfoy," Ginny said as she shook the trailing sleeves away from her hand to shake Draco's mother's hand. Narcissa shook the girls hand and nodded.

"Well ladies," Mrs. Malfoy said with a regal nod to the other two mothers, "I believe it is time to go. Draco if you take the bags I will take Ginevera."

Ginny watched at Mrs. Malfoy said goodbye to her friends. To an outsider it looked like Narcissa was talking down to her friends and the other mothers where gazing up into the brilliance of their betters. Ginny could tell, because she was not an outsider, that Mrs. Malfoy was truly happy to have spoken with Mrs. Parkinson and Mrs. Zabini. Ginny wished that the Slytherins had the freedom to show their emotions so everyone could see them instead of hiding behind the walls Gryffindor had trapped them behind. She hoped that Draco's plans would destroy that wall even if it could only be a single brick at a time.

There was a mess of screaming children running down the huge marble staircase in the even larger entrance hall. The swirl of children running around and jumping on Draco made it harder for Ginny to recover from side-along-apparition but when she did she was shocked. Over ten children had found a way to clamber onto Draco. He had three wrapped around his legs two in his arms and the rest climbing onto his back or chest. Ginny laughed at the helpless expression on Draco's face.

"Who's she?" A small boy with light brown hair snarled at Ginny. He looked like the oldest of the children, closer to thirteen, even though he was the shortest of all of them, and was scowling and pointing at Ginny. Ginny smiled and pulled the cloak off her shoulders.

Draco freed one of his hands from the children and grabbed Ginny's hand in his. "Aaron I would like you to meet my girlfriend, Ginny Weasley."

Aaron sniffed and turned his back on Ginny to face Narcissa. "Mamma the house elves say that supper is served."

"All right, children. Time to get off me!" Draco laughed. He shed children until he was only holding one girl who looked like she was only six. "Go wash up and meet down in the dinning hall." He put the girl down and started to guide Ginny along the lavish hallways of Malfoy manor. "Don't mind Aaron," Draco said with a laugh. "He is my protégé so he is a little upset that you will be monopolizing so much of my time. Once he really meets you I am sure he will like you."

"Ginevera, how lovely to see you again." Lucius Malfoy met them at the entrance to the dining hall. He looked cautious but hopeful when he caught sight of Ginny.

"Mr. Malfoy. I never thanked you for sparing my life last time we met." Ginny answered with a small smile. "I appreciate that you did not kill me."

Lucius laughed. "You were our only hope to have a Weasley join us. How could I kill you? But let us move to happier subjects. I hear that you and my son are a couple."

Ginny smiled and gripped Draco's hand tighter. "Yes. We have been together for a couple of months."

III

Ginny, cloak again covering her body, followed Draco, Blaise and Pansy into Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. She had watched as the shoppers in Diagon Alley warily watched the three teens and gossiped about them behind their hands. Ginny could often hear the words 'children of those Death Eaters, horrible people' and she watched sadly as mothers led their children to the other side of the street to avoid contact. If only these people knew about Slytherin and the truth.

The entire world believed in Gryffindor and his lies. Slytherin and Draco Malfoy would have a hard time teaching the world the truth. It was too bad that they could not give everyone an enchanted diary that could tell everyone Slytherins story.

The door opened to Fred and George's shop with a loud bang and a flash of white powder. Draco smirked and gently helped Ginny brush the powder off her shoulders and head before leading her into the shop.

"You remember the plan?" Blaise asked quietly. Ginny nodded and pulled the cloak off before heading towards the back of the shop where Fred and George were holding court in front of an audience of awed children and their parents.

"All you have to do is let the rocket touch a little dust and bam!" George said loudly with as many flourishes of his hands as he could include. "And no more dust, no more rocket, and a huge explosion of lights and sound."

"It's perfect for dusting chores!" Fred jumped in with an excited smile.

The crowd slowly dispersed and Ginny walked up to her brothers with a smile on her face. "You finally figured out how to keep the rockets from taking off the roof?" She asked happily.

"Ginny!" Gred and Forge yelled. "How is our favorite sister?"

"Do you remember what we spoke about over the summer?" Ginny asked in a quiet voice.

George held up a finger to silence her. "Lets go into the back room. Verity! Can you watch the shop for a moment?" The shop assistant nodded and waved her hand so Fred and George led Ginny into their back room.

"I have made my decision," Ginny said as soon as the door closed behind her. The twins looked at her and waited for her to elaborate. "I have chosen Slytherin." The twins nodded, "But," Ginny continued, "I chose to follow Draco Malfoy and his plans instead of Voldemort."

Fred nodded thoughtfully. "We understand and respect your choice." He whispered. "What do you want us to do to help you?"

"Do you know about the children the Death Eaters have been capturing?" Ginny asked quietly. The twins nodded. "Draco has been taking them into his home and has been teaching them the truth. When the children grow up they will be the leaders in Draco's army for when he takes over from the Ministry. Right now they need a teacher and I was wondering if either of you could take time off from the shop to teach them all you know."

George looked at Ginny and sighed. "Have Malfoy and his two friends come in here."

Ginny left to get Draco, Blaise and Pansy and returned seconds later with them in tow.

"We did not finish school," Fred started. "So we don't have the qualifications I am sure you are looking for in a teacher for the kids."

"That does not matter." Draco said with a smirk. "Look around your shop for a moment and see all of the advanced spells and potions you use and invent to make your jokes and tell me again that you lack the knowledge to teach these children. I believe that both of you are over qualified."

Fred and George looked at each other for a moment before turning to look at Draco. "Very well, count us in."


	11. Party Part One

**Chapter Eight- Party Part One**

------------------------------------------

Letters; carefully concealed letters, written in code, embossed with the Malfoy seal and sent out to every person who had sworn their allegiance to Draco Malfoy in a ceremony that required blood and life and was so unbreakable that to defy Draco Malfoy meant painful death. On the outside the letter looked like an invitation to the prestigious Malfoy Christmas Ball. Only those who knew the code would understand the true meaning behind the letter.

A meeting was to be held, plans were to be discussed, and loyalty was to be renewed; and at the head of this meeting stood Draco Malfoy, Ginevra Weasley, Blaise Zabini, and Pansy Parkinson.

Draco Malfoy watched as the owls swooped out of his office, all two hundred and forty seven, each with a beautiful invitation tied around one claw, and smiled coldly. His plans were finally beginning to fall into place. He had the beautiful Ginevra at his side, an entire legion of followers, and a perfect set of plans for every eventuality. All Draco needed to do was wait patiently for Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore to defeat Voldemort. Then…then the world would bow at the feet of Draco Malfoy and his consort Ginevra Weasley.

III

Ginny smiled happily as she walked into the training room and saw Snape and the twins working with all the children. Snape was staying for the weekend, until Dumbledore called him back, and was giving final potion tutorials to the oldest of the children. Fred was in another corner teaching the six year old girl, the seven year old boy and the three ten year olds basic defensive and offensive magic. George was teaching all the other children advanced charms and their blocks. In the center of the room stood Draco with his wand out. Aaron stood across from him. Neither was speaking and Ginny saw that Draco was teaching the small boy how to shoot spells silently. Aaron was a magical prodigy, almost a rival to Draco's own powers.

"Lunch time!" Ginny called into the mêlée. Suddenly what had once been a group of studious individuals became a mob of hungry children. They ran screaming excitedly past Ginny and down the hall. Fred, George and Snape followed at a slightly more sedate pace.

Draco and Aaron were left staring at each other with wands drawn and a ready spell in the minds. Ginny sighed. At this rate the two boys would never get downstairs to lunch.

Ginny pointed her finger at the boys and focused her magic into the small digit. "Expelliarmus." She whispered quietly. Two wands went flying into the air and two shocked faces turned to look at her.

Ginny smiled contentedly at them. "Lunch time." She chirped.

Draco had been taking his free time to train her as well as Aaron. In the week she had been at Malfoy Manor, Ginny had surpassed seventh year curriculum and was well into what Draco called mystical magic. This included wandless magic and spells that were so powerful that very few individuals could harness, or even dream about controlling, such power. Ginny knew that in a few more weeks of hard training she would reach the power level that Draco resided on. They would be the two most powerful individuals in the world.

Ginny smiled as she followed Draco out of the room and down the hall. Voldemort thought Draco was on his side and Dumbledore thought Ginny was on his side. Neither of the warring powers knew that a third side was growing. Draco and Ginny and all of their followers were perfectly poised to take control of the world and teach all of the ignorant masses of Slytherin's truth and Gryffindor's lie.

III

Nymphadora Tonks looked up from the gold embossed invitation in her hands and watched the proud eagle owl soar high into the clouds from the window in number twelve Grimmauled Place and shook her head in confusion. Tonks knew what she had learned at her mother's knee. Even though Andromeda had abandoned many of the Black family precepts when she married a Muggle born, the pure blooded woman had made sure that the truth had been made blatantly apparent to her young daughter Nymphadora.

Tonks slipped the invitation into a safe box that not even Remus knew about before heading downstairs to speak with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

She found the trio in the living room playing a quick game of chess. Ron was beating Harry, as usual, and Hermione was reading. Tonks smiled. Their inattention meant that her questions would not register as more than idle curiosity. She did not want the trio to know that she was checking their amount of knowledge for when she made a report to her true masters.

"So boys," she began with a small smile. "Did your sister ever mention where she was going for the holidays?"

Harry shrugged and Ron took an extra second to take Harry's pawn before answering. "She went to a friends house. I think she told Mum exactly where."

Tonks watched Harry move his bishop only to see Ron take the piece with his rook seconds later. She knew that the conversation was completely out of their minds. As she turned to leave Tonks caught Hermione looking at her over the top of a huge book.

"Why do you ask?" Hermione whispered, conscience of the fact that the boys would overreact if she made a big deal out of such a small question.

"Oh…" Tonks shrugged and waved her hand dismissively while she did some quick thinking. "Ginny and I usually have girl talk over break, you know, about boys and such, and I was missing our usual get-togethers. I'll just send her a letter; don't worry about it." Hermione nodded and Tonks walked breezily out of the room changing her hair to bright blue as she went.

Her masters would be pleased. No one in the Order Headquarters was aware that in a few short days Ginny Weasley would be hosting her coronation ball in Malfoy Manor as she was instated as future queen and current co-ruler of the empire that Draco Malfoy was creating.

Tonks sent a quick acceptance letter back with a by-note mentioning the homes and names of three new seven year olds who had been marked by the Ministry to attend Hogwarts in four years and two eight year olds who were to attend Beauxbatons when they reached the age of eleven. Hopefully Draco would have brought all five children into his home by the time of the party.

For now, Tonks had to go dress shopping.

III

Albus Dumbledore stood next to the charred wreckage that had once been a proud Muggle home. The Muggle firemen and policemen were just leaving the scene and Ministry and Order members were beginning to arrive. The owners of the home were insignificant when it came to recognition by the Wizarding World but their young daughter had been marked as an entrée into Hogwarts. When the Ministry had gauged her powers it had been clear that the girl would have been a strong asset to the school and eventually, hopefully, to the Order or the Ministry. The parents had been found unconscious and obliviated while the girl and her three-year-old brother (who was being watched for future signs of magical power) were both missing.

Dumbledore had a very strong guess as to what had happened. He had found a couple of signs that lead him to the belief that Death Eaters had been present at the scene and from that conclusion it was clear that the poor children had been kidnapped by Voldemort and his minions.

The old headmaster stifled a shudder when he thought of the horrors the innocent children must be going through and continued to survey the disaster. This was the second child taken in the same week.

The first missing child to ever disappear had been in a children's homeless shelter. He had been an accidental child born to pureblooded parents who had abandoned the newborn boy at a Muggle orphanage in order to avoid the shame a bastard child would create in their social circle. When the orphanage had been condemned the boy had gone to the streets where his harsh life had taught him how to harness his powers in order to survive. He disappeared in the middle of the night and, while the shelter said that this happened frequently with many children, Dumbledore knew that the boy had been kidnapped.

The only thing Dumbledore did not know was why the Death Eaters were taking the children. At first he thought Voldemort was going to use the children as hostages and bargaining tools but there were never any ransom notes. The only other reason the headmaster could think of was that the children were being used as moving targets for battle training, but still, their bodies were never found. It was perplexing but the kidnappings did serve to fuel the Ministry's' and the Orders' desire to destroy Voldemort and all of the Death Eaters.

Albus Dumbledore hoped that the mystery would be solved when the raided the Malfoy Mansion during the Malfoy's Christmas Ball.

III

Draco Malfoy looked out through the eye wholes in his mask to survey the glittery crowd as a smirk crossed his face. There were so many people in attendance. Many of them had come to renew their oaths of service to Draco and his cause but an equal amount had come to join the cause. The power base was growing each year and the army was nearly five hundred strong.

As he watched Blaise spin Ginevera around on the dance floor a rare smile lit the blonde's face.

Maybe for tonight he could relax a little and allow himself to have a little bit of fun. It was Christmas after all; and Draco Malfoy was quite sure that his plans were foolproof. He glided gracefully down the staircase to steal his fiancé away from Zabini and gave the pretty redhead his full attention.


	12. Party Part Two

**Chapter Nine- Party Part Two**

--------------------------------------

Ginny smiled happily up at Draco as he gently dipped her and he smiled happily back down at her. Anyone in the room could see their love for each other. A select few saw their relationship as the one weakness that could break apart every careful plan ever formed by Draco Malfoy.

Tonks, from her position high on the balcony leading into the inner chambers where she would make her report to Master Malfoy, could see how strong their love burned and could also see that if Dumbledore ever decided to confine Ginny to the Order Headquarters, Draco would drop everything in order to free her. The eventuality would cripple everything. Luckily, if Dumbledore and his other Gryffindor obsessed friends ever tried such a tactic; Tonks was there to free Ginny.

At the moment Tonks was feverously waiting for the dance to end and for Draco to return to his duties. The raid was to happen at midnight, a terribly clichéd time, Tonks mused, and Draco Malfoy needed to know about the attack before it occurred.

The music finally ended and the hosts left the dance floor to gentle applause. Their dancing had been beautiful and the love they had shown for each other had made everything enchanting. Draco Malfoy's followers could appreciate beauty and they respected their betters.

Five minutes later Tonks was ushered into the receiving room. Zabini and Parkinson had been left in charge of the party while Malfoy and Ginevra sat together in a small loveseat across from a table and a single chair

III

Draco looked at his watch and paled. It was a quarter till midnight. He was sure that the Order was watching for people apparating away and for the use of the floo network. He would have to be very circumspect in his plans.

"Ginny," he turned to the beautiful witch beside him, "will you gather the children and hide them in the secret passage in the basement?"

Ginny nodded. "How will you get the guests out?" She asked quietly.

Draco smirked at her. "What guests?" He joked before winking cryptically at her and sweeping out of the room.

Draco picked up a small champagne flute from the side table and walked up to the dais. He motioned for the musicians to stop playing and waited for everyone's attention to rest on him.

"I propose a toast!" Draco called to all of his guests. Once all the guests had gotten a drink he continued, "First I want to wish you all a Happy Christmas and good health for the coming year…" Draco continued aimlessly along this vein for a while and slowly the guests began to realize that Draco was actually speaking in code.

"Gather your family and calmly follow Blaise and Pansy to safety."

Draco finished his speech with a flourish of his arm and drank deeply from his glass. He watched over the rim as his people slowly followed his directions. Blaise and Pansy took turns leading all of Draco's loyal followers to a secret passage that lead under the Malfoy Lake and deep into the forest. Once they were in the forest, everyone had permission to disapparate.

III

Tonks joined up with the Order group with only a few minutes to spare.

"Sorry I'm late," she said breezily, "I got a little lost apparating here. I must have ended up in three different forests before I got the directions right." She giggled and tripped over a tree root. Lupin sighed and helped his girlfriend stand straight.

"We're ready," Moody hissed.

The Order blasted through the huge front doors of the Malfoy Manor and spread out into their positions. The only people they found were Draco Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy safely tucked into their beds.

The raid was a complete failure and, as Draco Malfoy had angrily promised when he was forced from his bed, now the Ministry was angry at the Order and was prepared to take control of the Order from Dumbledore.

III

All in all, Draco thought absentmindedly, it had been a very good night. Draco had proved his strength to his followers by helping them escape the clutches of the Order and had then outwitted the Order and gotten the Ministry on their backs; an excellent job when he looked back on it.

He slipped out of bed around six in the morning when he was sure the Order was gone and headed down to the basement.

Draco opened the passage and could not keep a small smile from lighting on his face. Most of the children had fallen asleep draped across Ginny's lap. She held the baby in one arm and had her other arm wrapped around the two youngest children.

To Draco's surprise, Fred and George were also in the passage. Each had a child on his lap and, if Draco was not mistaken the twins, a boy and a girl pair, were sleeping between Fred and George.

Snape stepped out of the shadows with Aaron at his heals. "I believe that we need to lay low for the next few weeks," Snape whispered, conscience of the sleeping children.

Draco nodded slowly and turned to look at Ginny who was now awake. She nodded at him and smiled softly.

"Right," Draco said while nodding back to her. "Snape, if you and my father will take the children to the Malfoy beach house…?" Draco began.

"There is no possible way for me to take all of them Draco," Snape said with a shake of his head. "Plus, Ginevra can not come."

"We can take these four to help out in the shop," Fred chimed in with a careful gesture towards the children sleeping with George and himself.

"Pansy and I can take nine or ten to the Zabini beach house," Blaise called into the passage as he and Pansy made their way across the basement floor towards the open door.

"Ginny, can you go to your parents house for a couple days?" Draco asked. She was silent for a moment and Draco lifted one eyebrow in question.

"Yes, of course. Everyone has come home from their vacations by now and Mum would love to have me at the Burrow." Ginny answered but Draco saw the trepidation that lined her features. Draco understood her feelings as they matched his own. Ginny would have to go into the real world and hide the fact that she was truly of Salazar Slytherins' line. She would have to pretend to believe in Gryffindor and to follow the wizarding world's misguided laws, just like the rest of Slytherin house did every day of their lives. Draco felt awful for subjecting Ginny to such torture but they both knew that it was necessary.

"I am not going into hiding." Aaron said in a strong voice. "I need to finish my training with Draco. Plus I think we have some plans that could be put to good use now," he sent a meaningful look towards Draco and Ginny.

Draco and Ginny shared a long look. Ginny stood up and brushed off her robes before holding out her hand for Aaron to shake. "Then I expect the next time I see you will be at Hogwarts."

III

"Ginny?" Molly Weasley opened her front door to see her youngest daughter standing on the stoop.

"Hi mum. I'm sorry for stopping by unannounced but I was in the neighborhood and it's Christmas so…" Ginny smiled serenely at her mother and waited for the inevitable wash of compassion.

"Oh! Ginny come in. It's wonderful that you decided to stop by! Here, take a seat by the fire and I'll go get you some tea and biscuits."

Ginny sat on the worn couch sleepily munching on the biscuits her mother had brought. She had not gotten a lot of sleep the previous night. She had gathered the children into the basement with little problems but it had taken hours for the children to calm down enough to sleep.

She was so tired that when the argument started in the other room Ginny almost did not bother lifting an ear towards the noise. A minute later she was glad that she had taken the effort. The argument was of vital information for Draco.

"No! You listen Arthur. As long as the Ministry is interfering with the Order we are completely stifled. We are unable to make an offensive against Voldemort let alone plan a defensive with the information Snape smuggles us. Not only will this pose a huge threat towards the wizarding world but it could potentially set the final confrontation back by a few years, a few very dangerous years."

The conversation quieted after that profound statement made by Alastor Moody but Ginny had heard enough. Those few years that they had been arguing about were of vital importance towards Draco's cause as well. In a few years Aaron would come of age and would be able to take his rightful place as one of the most powerful people in Draco's regime. They could build their power base to such heights if given those years. This was good news. Ginny was just sad that she would need to wait until after New Years before she could tell Draco.

"Ginny!" Her mother called from the kitchen. "If you help me set out lunch we can get to Diagon Alley sooner! Don't you need to replenish your potions supplies?"

III

Ginny stopped short in the middle of the crowded street of Diagon Alley and cocked her head to the side as if she were listening for something. Disgruntled shoppers glared at the girl as she impeded their path but she paid then no heed. Harry watched the red head with a small smile on his face. He was used to Ginny's odd quirks and just waited patiently for this instance to play out.

Ginny took off at a fast walk down the street and Harry followed a few steps behind. She turned down a small side alley and bent down next to a rubbish bin.

When Ginny stood up Harry saw that she was carrying a tiny black kitten with white paws. It mewled helplessly and Harry couldn't help but smile as he saw Ginny comfort the poor cat.

Harry could imagine Ginny gently holding a child instead of a cat and he knew that she would make a great mother some day. What did it matter if the child he saw her holding had messy black hair and green eyes?

There was a quiet sigh from the front of the alley and Harry quickly spun around. He stopped reaching for his wand when he saw that it was only Lupin.

"It's always the innocents who get hurt in a war." The old ex-professor sighed. "If Ginny weren't around there would not be anyone willing to save a homeless cat. The world needs more people like her." Harry nodded in agreement.

"If the Order had even one more person with as pure a heart as Ginny Weasley, the war would be won." Lupin continued. "Kindness and Love will defeat Voldemort after all."

Ginny scowled at their words and buried her face in the kittens fur. She had heard the cat howl sadly from where it had been hidden and had quickly rushed to find it and help it. Now, after overhearing the words Lupin and Harry had spoken about her, all Ginny wanted to do was run off. True, she was still a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Just because she had pledged her loyalty to Draco did not mean that she had to abandon her family and the vision of peace the Order strove for. The only difference was that she knew the truth and all the Order knew was the lie they thought was the truth.

One of these days her true loyalties would come forward and those words, words regaling her innocence and purity, would be recanted; her family and Gryffindor friends would hate her. Luckily the enormous good she was doing on behalf of Draco and Slytherin would balance that. Plus, she would always have Draco to fall back on if the disgust from her family became too much.

Ginny gathered her kitten and the supplies she had purchased and followed Harry out of the alley and back into Diagon Alley proper.

"Can we go back to the Burrow now? I want to feed Diana." Ginny asked quietly petting her newly named cat. Harry and Lupin had been sent with her around the Alley for protection. Her father and another Order member were with her mother and Hermione at the other end of the shopping district.

"Yes we actually need to get back at once. That's what I was coming to tell you about." Lupin said as he guided them into the Leaky Cauldron and the blazing fireplace. "We found one of the missing children," he whispered before handing each teen the bag of floo powder.

When Ginny stepped out of the fireplace at the Burrow the first person she saw was Aaron sitting on the living room couch. He looked curiously up at Harry, Ginny and Lupin and somehow managed not to show any recognition at the sight of Ginny.

Unsure as to what exactly her face showed as she looked at the boy, Ginny quickly ran into the kitchen to find Diana some food.

Her mum came bustling in a few moments later looking harried. "Oh, Ginny. It's good that you're here. The Order is having a meeting about what to do with the boy and I can't let them discus such important matters without feeding them lunch. Once I get these sandwiches on a tray you can bring them into the meeting.

Ginny hefted the tray in one hand and carefully opened the door with another. A couple Order members nodded their heads in greeting but no one seemed compelled to stop their conversation just because Ginny was in the room.

"But Albus! The boy knows nothing about the Wizarding World. If he enters Hogwarts he'll be in first year classes." McGonagall seemed outraged at the concept.

"So be it, Minerva. I don't see any way for him to be able to join the third years."

Ginny grimaced at the idea. Poor Aaron would be subjected to first year classes when the boy had already surpassed seventh year magic. It would be an unnecessary sort of torture for him.

"Don't penalize him just because he missed a couple of years of schooling," Ginny piped up. "That would demoralize him even more. What if you place him in third year classes with his peers and I tutor him every night until he catches up?"

"You must understand Ginny," her father said calmly, "he has had his memory wiped of what we are sure where traumatizing years. Can you handle dealing with the problems this could cause?" Ginny nodded vigorously.

"The boy was also set free," Moody murmured. "The Death Eaters let him go to fulfill a certain purpose. You must be very careful not to let him learn anything you overhear in Order meetings and be especially careful to watch out for nefarious actions on his part."

Ginny nodded again. "I'll be cautious."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "Let me discus the boy's future with the boy himself. If he agrees then the plan sounds wonderful." The old man rose from his seat and walked into the other room. Ginny gathered the empty plates and followed him out.

III

"Welcome back to Hogwarts! I hope you have all enjoyed your break. Today we have a new student joining us."

Aaron stepped up next to Dumbledore and smiled at the assembled faces gathered for dinner in the Great Hall. He sat down on the three-legged stool and waited as the floppy old sorting hat was placed on his head.

Ginny watched as Aaron was sorted and smiled with anticipation as the ripped brim on the hat opened and began to speak.

"Gryffindor!"


	13. Aaron

**Chapter Ten- Aaron**

A.N. Chapters one through thirteen have been edited as of 1/18/07.

---------------------------

The weeks after Christmas break passed quickly and spring was beginning to sneak up on the castle. Aaron looked down through the frosted window at the melting yet still snowy grounds and sighed quietly.

Classes were boring and rather trying. He had to pretend to be hopeless at magic while he knew that he could easily duel the professor and win without even trying. He had to meet with Ginevra every night for faux lessons. The only times he learned anything was when Draco came to those tutoring sessions; but that was rare. In fact, the only good thing in the entire school was Gryffindor house.

The other boys in his year had led him to his dormitory after the welcome back feast and, while they had given him curious looks, they had not asked intruding questions. It was a refreshing change from the childish antics of Draco's rescued children that he was used to.

For the past weeks Aaron had watched the Gryffindors live their lives in Gryffindor house. He had always thought of Gryffindors as shallow and callus fools. After all, Godric Gryffindor was the one who banished Salazar Slytherin and created the original injustice in the first place. Everything Draco and Snape had taught Aaron had only cemented these facts into his brain.

Now that he was living in Gryffindor he could see just how false his assumptions had really been. The other children in his year were friendly and open with their feelings. They seemed so happy and excited at the prospect of another day of learning. Even the outside threat of Voldemort did not faze them; it only made the Gryffindors train harder. In fact, the only fault Aaron could see about Gryffindor house in general was that they believed in the great lie and were so stubborn in that belief that nothing would sway them.

Sometimes Aaron wished that … but he could not voice those thoughts. It would betray everything he worked for in Draco's name.

But the thoughts persisted and only grew stronger as the weeks passed. Sometimes Aaron wondered how Ginevra could do it. How could she have grown up learning the utopian ideals Gryffindors preached and then be able to turn around and follow Draco? Didn't she ever wonder if her life would be different if she never picked up that damned diary? Sometimes, "Sometimes I wish Draco had never bothered to rescue me," my life would be so much better.

A soft inhalation of breath brought Aaron back from his thoughts. He turned his head from the window to look quizzically at Ginny before realization set in and he winced.

"I said that aloud didn't I?" Aaron moaned. He buried his face in his hands and did not dare peek out at Ginny. He had just voiced treason to the one person in the world that Draco trusted with his life.

"Why do you say that?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Just forget I said it!" Aaron snarled. He began to pack all of his textbooks into his bag and was just swinging the straps over his shoulders when a whispered comment from Ginny stopped him in his tracks.

"Sometimes I wish that I had never heard the story about Slytherin." Ginny caught Aarons gaze with her sad one and he resumed his seat next to her. "My life would be so much different. I would be happy in Gryffindor with all of my friends and my boyfriend Harry Potter. I would never have to worry about animosity from my family and friends because I would follow them into the Order of the Phoenix and then out into battle. Or," she took a deep breath and Aaron realized that what Ginny was about to say was very difficult for her, "I could still be in Gryffindor house, lonely and bored. I would never meet my soul mate, Draco. I would never have a true purpose in life. Instead I learned the story of Slytherin and look at where I am now. I am happy and I do enjoy my life.

"And you, Aaron. You say that sometimes you wish Draco had never rescued you from the trash heap you had been living in. If he hadn't you might have gotten a Hogwarts letter at age eleven and have been brought to Hogwarts where you would have made hundreds of friends and have been happy with your life. You would have started learning magic in your first year and would only be one more student living within the walls of this castle. Or," and her gaze became so sharp that Aaron straightened his spine and glared at her, "you could have died in that huge muggle rubbish bin you called home. Starvation, disease, street fighting; all of that could have sent you from this world before you could even dream about getting a Hogwarts letter. Or, the ministry might have decided to ignore a dirty muggleborn street rat. You could still be living in the same dirty hole, not knowing that something better could have come along and you were passed over for someone cleaner."

Aaron looked at her with confusion in his eyes. What was Ginny trying to say?

Ginny shook her head and hid her smile from Aaron's confused glare. "You see, our decisions influence fate so we are guided down the path that best suits our lives. When I decided to write in Tom Riddle's diary I destroyed the path that I could have followed in Gryffindor house. My decision at that crucial time in my life is what brought me here today.

"We are not allowed to know what might have happened if such-and-such never occurred. All we can do is live with what we have and make the best of it." Ginny smiled sadly and Aaron ran a hand through his hair.

"So I made the choice to follow Draco." Aaron grumbled from beneath a fringe of hair that his hand had swept into his eyes. "I was saved from the trash heap and I learned Slytherin's truth. You're saying that the decisions I made back then are the reason I am where I am now."

Ginny nodded.

"Then, if I know and believe in Slytherin, why was I sorted into Gryffindor?" Aaron moaned. "If I had been given the choice I would be in Slytherin!"

"Aaron, just because you know the truth does not change who you are. The hat looks at your base nature. You are courageous and friendly and stubborn just like any Gryffindor. When the hat saw all of that, it knew that you would have the best experience here at Hogwarts in Gryffindor house."

Aaron did not move for a long time. He just sat in the chair in the back of the library with his head in his hands. Ginny slowly stood up, patted the boy comfortably on his head, and walked away to give him plenty of time to think.

III

"I had a long talk with Aaron today," Ginny said quietly. They were in Draco's private rooms after one of their weekly meetings. Blaise and Pansy had just left for their beds. Draco was sitting on one end of the couch sorting notes and Ginny was laying on her back with her head in Draco's lap while she petted Diana.

"Mmmhhmm, what about?"

"Aaron wanted to know if his life would be better if you never bothered to rescue him and he never learned about Slytherin."

"What!" Draco stood up and Ginny's head thumped onto the couch cushion. She sat up and rubbed her head. Draco was pacing in front of her muttering to himself.

Ginny only caught a few words but she had heard enough to know the gist of what Draco was proposing. "Draco, none of your plans are in ruins! Aaron has not betrayed the cause to his Gryffindor loving friends!"

"He spoke of treason!" Draco roared.

"Draco! The boy is only thirteen! He's at the age where children question everything they have been taught. Thirteen year olds push at their boundaries and ignore restrictions. It's just how adolescents act at that age. What were you like when you were thirteen?"

Draco laughed. "The first time I started planning for myself instead of blindly following what my father told me was when I was thirteen."

"Exactly! Draco, Aaron knows his duties and the boy is not foolish enough to spill all of our plans to Dumbledore on an adolescent whim. Give him time to figure out who he is and to ground himself. I believe that he will be more than adequate for the responsibilities you are entrusting him with. We have time, so please give that time to Aaron. He will be a stronger person for it."

Draco nodded but did not stop pacing. When he rounded the couch Ginny stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm.

"Draco, what made Lucius decide that his son would not serve Voldemort?"

Draco sat down next to Ginny with a tired sigh. "Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what made my father originally decide to serve Voldemort. I think father was enamored with the fact that Tom Riddle was a descendent of Salazar Slytherin so he joined the Death Eaters. Yet, as far as I know, my father has never enjoyed being a Death Eater; he was never a true follower. He saw the lies Voldemort was spreading and how Tom Riddle was using his ancestry to manipulate Slytherins like my father into following him. Unfortunately, by the time father realized all this, it was too late for him to escape without risking the lives of my mother and me.

"When I was born my father was supposed to present me to the Dark Lord so I could be marked as a future loyal Death Eater. Father ignored Voldemort's wishes and hid me away until baby Potter sent the Dark Lord into hiding. Instead he started planning to have me take Voldemort's place as leader of all Slytherin.

"I've always believed that my father saw something, some power, in me when I was a baby that showed him that I would never be comfortable with blind servitude to a filthy liar. Either way, I'm grateful."

III

Aaron had made a decision. It was childish, he knew that, but he knew that at least Ginny would understand his reasoning. Hopefully Draco would not be too angry.

Aaron was not planning on betraying Draco. He knew the truth and that small fact would always separate him from the rest of the Gryffindors. Still…he wanted to be a carefree, naive, and innocent child like the rest of the kids in his year. Aaron wanted an opportunity to be free from all his duties while he had the chance because he knew that in a few years he would be working constantly for the cause.

So, until life called him back, he would be just another third year student and he would try his best to be happy.

III

"Ice Mice." Ginny said to the scowling gargoyle outside Dumbledore's office. She let the moving stairs carry her up to where an important meeting about Aaron was about to be held by the Order. She sighed. Lately it seemed that everyone was worrying about the boy. Draco was worried that the boy would let important information slip, Ginny was worried about his mental health now that Aaron was in a new environment, and the Order was worried that the boy would suddenly morph into Voldemort and start killing students.

The door swung open as she reached it so Ginny continued walking into the office. Alastor Moody, Remus Lupin, Professor Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall were all waiting for her arrival.

"So what has the boy done?" Moody snarled "Have you noticed any Dark Arts or seen him torturing kittens?"

Ginny glared at the man. "Honestly! How can you say such horrible things? Aaron is a perfectly normal boy. Half the time it's like he never had his memory taken from him. Aaron is so bright. He's learning the magic I teach him amazingly quickly. Plus, haven't you heard Mr. Moody, Aaron was sorted into Gryffindor. If he was doing anything illegal I'm positive someone in my house would have noticed."

"I agree with Miss Weasley," McGonagall added in. "The worst I've seen from Aaron is when I caught him running from a massive dung bomb explosion that Aaron and his friends had set off. I am beginning to think that maybe we are mistaken about Aaron's intentions. It is possible that the boy escaped but the trauma he experienced forced his mind to erase its own memory to protect his sanity. It's a perfectly normal defense mechanism and I saw it happen plenty of times during the first war against You-Know-Who."

Moody nodded. "Keep vigilant when it comes to the boy. It is possible that he is waiting until we are complacent before striking. I will speak with you later Dumbledore." Moody strode out of the office and, after a quick nod farewell, Lupin followed.

"I will direct them to the front door away from the eyes of the rest of the student body." McGonagall said before sweeping out of the office.

"Come Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said quietly, "It is time for dinner and these old bones could use some company down to the Great Hall." Ginny nodded quietly to the Headmaster and followed him out of the room.

McGonagall caught up with them as they reached the staircase down to the second floor.

"I'm sorry Miss Weasley but I need to speak with Professor Dumbledore for a moment. If you wouldn't mind going ahead by yourself…?"

"Of course Professor," Ginny said with a smile. She continued down the staircase alone. Her stomach rumbled audibly so Ginny picked up her pace.

The stairs were not wet nor slippery and Ginny had not been going that fast but that did not explain why she was suddenly falling face first down the last few steps to the ground floor. Ginny called magic the way Draco had taught her to cushion her fall. The magic swirled around her and told Ginny that it had been a tripping charm thrown from her left that had sent her sprawling. She sent the magic away and slowly turned to face her attacker.

He stepped in front of her and snarled. "Clumsy mudblood lover." He spat on the floor next to her ear. Ginny gulped. This was not one of Draco's followers but a Slytherin with the Dark Mark proudly displayed on his forearm. She would never get to her wand in time and if she used visible wandless magic against the Slytherin he would tell Voldemort and she would be in trouble.

Ginny could see McGonagall and Dumbledore rushing down the stairs to her aid but they would be too late.

The boy raised his wand, "Reducto!" He yelled.

Suddenly there was a set of black and red robes standing over her. "Protego!" The reductor curse bounced harmlessly off the shield and moments later McGonagall had her wand pointed at the Slytherin boy.

Ginny's protector knelt down next to her and Ginny looked up into Aaron's wide eyes. He was doing some quick thinking.

"Are you alright Ginny?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, thank you Aaron," Ginny answered quietly. The boy moved fast. If Aaron had been in the Great Hall when he felt Ginny call her magic then he must have sprinted to get to her side in time to protect her.

"It's a good thing you taught me that charm!" Aaron said with an open smile. "Otherwise you would be a blasted hole in the ground." He gave her a hand to help her to her feet before turning his guileless smile on the Professors. "I saw the whole thing!" Aaron said, "I was helping Luna Lovegood look for a Blibbering Humdinger on this side of the castle and I was just following a lead down this hallway. This Slytherin hit Ginny with a tripping charm when she was on the stairs and then tried to kill her!"

"Thank you for saving me Aaron," Ginny said quietly. She ruffled his hair and gave him a chaste hug.

"I'm going to go tell Luna that there aren't any Humdingers here. If you need me I'll be in the Great Hall." Aaron spun around and left before anyone could gainsay his departure.

McGonagall sighed and ushered the Slytherin upstairs to her office. "I'll contact the Order." She called over her shoulder.

"Are you well Miss Weasley? Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?" Dumbledore asked kindly.

"I'm sure that I'll indulge in a fit of hysterics later but right now I'm pretty numb," Ginny answered slowly. Hopefully when that happened she would be in Draco's protecting arms.

She looked down the corridor after Aaron and allowed a tiny smile onto her face. "He's a good kid," Ginny whispered.

"Yes, he is Miss Weasley. I am beginning to think that perhaps we were wrong about him. Young Aaron could be a great asset to the Order of the Phoenix." Dumbledore smiled and walked back up the stairs after McGonagall. Ginny left to meet up with a sure to be worried Draco.


End file.
